Keep it or sell it?

So many times when we go out shopping for items to sell whether it be the antique store, flea market, resale shop, Shorty's or a garage sale we have the best intentions to buy only things we feel will sell or associate with our years of youth.

While we hunt these items (coffee mugs in hand), we pick up all sorts of goodies that have a memory for one or both of us.  When we make our purchases, we get them home, wash them up and look them over for flaws. For some reason the items with flaws hang around my house to look at, until I finally go donate them for someone else to work with. (keeping it out of the landfill one item at a time)

Many times though, we look at the items and set them in a special spot where it looks good in one of our homes and keep it there for a few days or months before it is listed.  A few times, they were never listed at all because we have fallen in love with them all over again. Mary will ask me when I am going to list that beautiful pressed glass bowl we bought last month, and I will say "oops, sorry, I'm keeping it".

Once in a blue moon an item that is listed and sold can't be found because it is not in the storage area, it is in that special spot in one of our houses.  Always found of course, but can make for a panicked few moments until one of us remembers we have it.  We have enjoyed it so much that it has become a part of our home.  Now it MUST leave.

The point of having our ETSY store is to sell items, not add to our stock at home, yet we do it over and over again.

Whatever things make you feel comfy and loved that you were surrounded with through the years, keep them close.  You may turn into the crazy twins who want to keep everything. Hopefully you will never see us on the tv show HOARDERS. 

But it could happen....................
:)

Fishing With The Twins

   My sister and I share the love of life's simple pleasures;  gardening, treasure hunting, and we love, love to fish.  This blog is dedicated to some of our fishing adventures.  When we go fishing together it is always with a fresh cup of coffee in hand in our favorite beat-up travel mugs.  Oh, of course we take our fishing poles, bait and the normal fishing gear that most people carry.  For us it is not even about catching the biggest fish.  We don't care if we catch a fish at all.  It is about spending time together, sharing the quiet of nature along with some chatting. The simple joy of spending time together. 

  We went fishing together with our husbands in the early morning hours of a extremely hot steamy day.  The area that we had chosen for that morning was weedy and had lots of underwater brush.  Great for catching the fish who like to hide.  Our husbands prefer to fish away from us as we tend to be a little too chatty, too giggly for their fishing enjoyment.  On this particular day, we kept getting hung up in this one area where this one bush was located at.  Oh, and did I mention we like big bobbers too?  Mine is a light up bobber.   In any case I got stuck, I mean really stuck.  I tried all of the tricks of the trade trying to get my bobber and hook unstuck.  Nothing was working.   So my sister Cathy says "here let me help". If you can possibly picture this;  I have a hold of the pole, my sister gets in front of me, grabs on to the line.  She says just keep steady pressure and keep backing up. We will get it free of the brush in just a second.  So we keep backing up, and backing up, and her husband tells my husband will you just look at those two.  I am sure we probably looked ridiculous, but we were in it together 'til the end!   All of the sudden the bobber gets free, and comes flying back at us and warp speed, and we were like oh oh, and it goes Thwack, and smacks my sister on the thigh.  She turns around and looks at me and all we could manage to do is laugh hysterically.  She had the biggest bruise on her thigh. Our husbands could not figure out why that was so funny, they are just standing there shaking there heads. This could only happen to us.

  On another occasion we wanted to go fishing and our husbands refused.  It was too hot, they were too tired.   We decided we're going to go, just the two of us, night fishing!   So we got our gear together, coffee mugs included (we never go anywhere without our coffee)   We headed down to the local dock to go fishing.  Keep in mind, I am afraid of water snakes, my sister is afraid of spiders.  It is those childhood phobia's, and we know it is crazy.   When we fish, she watches for the snakes for me, and I keep a lookout for the spiders for her.  We protect each other.  If we walk under trees, we hold our poles up, in a X fashion to brush away the spiders ahead of us, and we sing to keep the snakes away, as well as anything else that might be lurking around.  We thought we were being very brave going fishing at night by ourselves.  I think we were also trying to prove our independence as well.  We get out on the dock cast our lines out, and sit down.

We had not been there an hour, and the snakes started coming in.  I can see them churning up the water under the dock.  At this point I am terrified, and my sister is like it's okay.  They can't get up on the dock.  I still am not so sure about this, but I keep fishing.  Then we noticed that the spiders were coming up on the dock.  Not just one or two that I can stomp as I have to be the one to stomp them, but a whole army of the little creepy crawly things.  I look at her, and she looks at me, and said I think it is time to go.  Wait just a minute, we have only been gone an hour, what wimps are we!  We decided to add on to our "fishing time" by going to the nearest McDonald's to get what?  Of course, coffee LOL.  We wasted another hour so we didn't appear to wimp out too quickly.

We arrived back home to my house where the guys were watching tv, and they wanted to know how the fishing went.  We told them we had a great time.  They said they  figured we would be back in a few minutes, once the spiders and snakes came up. 

So if you go fishing, watch out for flying bobber's, and snakes, and spiders!  You just never know what will happen on your fishing adventures.

Live Love and Giggle

The Twins

When Technology Changes Everything

We were talking about the old butcher shops and general stores from days gone by and it brought up a whole long discussion about another era.  The following are a few examples of how times have changed

Today when we go into a grocery store to purchase meat, everything is pre-packaged or pre-cut.  You would be lucky to find a butcher who still knows the trade without using machinery to do the work.
In the old days people would head to the butcher shop, take a number and wait their turn. You would order ground meat, cut up pork chops in a thickness of your choice and in a number of your choice whether it be 1 pork chop or a dozen.  When affordable or for a special occasion  a nice roast cut from a large piece of meat, hand cut and tied by the butcher.  Then wrapped in paper and labeled as to what is in the package.  Their time with the butcher may have been 5 minutes or 30 minutes depending on your order but everyone expected to wait.

These days there are no Mom and Pop stores so we go to Walmart or Target and load up our carts with everything from food to clothing, even appliances and mixing it all together.  When it is time to check out it seems so impersonal and robotic.  The cashier hands you a receipt and say "sign here" and sometimes, not even a thank you for dropping your whole paycheck in their register.

In a general store people could go into the store, ask to order items with an actual person, shop leisurely and go to the counter to have your bill added up, all the while finding out how the store clerks family is doing and probably some town gossip.  If necessary it could be added to "your account", and then it could even be delivered.
It was based on neighborly goodness and human kindness.

If needed you would visit the druggist or pharmacy where the customer could talk things over with the druggist and would go home with the feeling that someone truly cared about them.  Just 20 years ago I stopped at a local Rexall about my son's dry cracked feet.  The pharmacist went in the back and scooped something out of a larger container, put it into a small container and gave it to me.  He said try this for a week and if it works, we will order more.  It was pure Lanolin and it did work.  I would not find that assistance anywhere today especially at no cost. Sadly that store went out when the chain store came in.

When folks were sick, the doctor came to their homes by "house call".  Day or night.  He did not ask who their insurance was or how they were going to pay the bill.  He might even have had medicine in his bag and leave that with the patient to help their symptoms and would come back in a day or two to check up on them.  There were no trips to the ER at $500+ per visit.

As for the telephone, these days we call a number it is "push 1" for this, or "leave a message after the tone" We did not rely on our phones for every movement we made. If people were not home when someone called, then the person would just call back. I remember how appalled my mother was when someone (wink wink) suggested she get an answering machine.  She wanted to know "why"?  They will just call back she said.

A lot of these scenarios are stories I heard from my mother who grew up back in that time, so they are not just imagined, they were truly how life was.

Technology is moving us forward into the future, yes, but sometimes we long for the days when it was just nice to meet face to face.

How On Earth Did They Do It?

I was looking at a recipe the other day for a German cookie called Springerle.  The directions said to beat by hand for one hour.  One hour!  I am lucky if I can beat brownies for 10 minutes.  This got me to thinking about the chores from the old days when electricity was not a thought in anyone's mind yet.

In order to bake something you had to start a fire in the stove, wash the clothes on a washboard, shred cheese or cabbage on a grater, grind your own meat with a crank handle, knead the bread for who knows how long or to make a hole in wood for building using a crank or push drill.

No wonder they went to bed early, from total exhaustion.

Today we have food processors, washing machines, home delivery groceries that come to you frozen, hand mixers, power drills, lawn mowers and more.
As I look at the flab on my arms and legs, I realize if I took the old fashioned route and really did the work I probably would look a whole lot better.  I love to look at all the old tools and think back to how they used them, maybe even try them out and realize how lucky we all are to have the inventions that are out there today.

So the next time you see some of these items, just think of all they had to go through back then to get a loaf of bread, the laundry done, the food sliced and diced, the meat ground up or that special Springerle cookie.  I'm so glad there is a bakery in town!

Grandma's Hoosier Part 2

Grandma's Hoosier
part 2
 My father brought the Hoosier cabinet to me early in August that year.  I had setup outside, so I could strip the cabinet for refinishing.  I just knew that under that white paint, was a beautiful piece of furniture. 
 I tried conventional strippers, and scrapers, working every spare afternoon.  Sweating, thinking how beautiful it was going to be when I was done.  The conventional strippers, were just not cutting through the layer of paint.  Finally I had this bright, or not so bright idea of using oven cleaner (what could it hurt right). Layer after layer of paint came off,
my Grandmother really loved to paint that Hoosier.  I counted three different layers of white, two different shades of blue, and even a layer of yellow.  My how she loved to paint.
 I made great progress, in Oct, I finally got down to the wood and discovered the oak, oh how I love oak wood. However, all of the panels on the doors were a veneer, which I could not tell until of course the paint was off.  The frame was solid, but basically I had a lot of pieces of doors, without anything in the middle.  I was broken hearted, what had I done.  And now what on earth was I going to do.  I am not a carpenter, and at this point not a good re-finisher either. 
 One day out of the blue, my father asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  I think he must have known what a mess I had made of the Hoosier.  I said the only thing I could think of was grandma's Hoosier in my kitchen.  He smiled and said I think I can help you with that.  He came out with his truck and loaded up all of the pieces, and took them home to his wood shop in the garage.  Now, my father has a lot of talent, but I know even he was wondering if he could repair what damage I had done.
 The day before Christmas, my father brought the truck back out to my house.  He carefully unloaded the completed Hoosier.  He had replaced the bottom door panel with solid oak wood and the doors on top had been replaced with glass, so I could display my treasures.  He had lovingly sanded each piece and part and put it back together.  Oh my did the tears flow.
 That was fifteen years ago, and the Hoosier is my kitchen to stay.  One day my children will look back and say do you remember when mom tried to refinish Grandma's Hoosier and hopefully it will be a warm memory and story that they will pass down to their children.

 Pieces of the past are what make us who we are today, whether it be fond memories of boiled coffee on the stove, or a nature walk with a beloved family member, or a warm hug from a Grandparent.  Treasure them in your heart!
Mary and Cathy

Grandma's Hoosier

Mary's Story

 When I was a little girl I spent many a Saturday afternoon with my Great-Grandmother Rose. Some of my fondest memories are of my times spent at her house.  She was a gentle soul, who I never heard utter a word in anger.  That is not to say she did not get angry, but she such a gentle way about her that you never knew she was angry.    She did not have a lot of possessions.  She was born in the late 1800's and learned to get by with what she had during hard times.

She was widowed early in her 50's, so she spent the second half of her life alone in a small farmhouse that my great-grandfather built.  She was the kind of person who never seemed lonely or bored.  She had busy hands. She put out a huge garden every year, canned her own veggies, and quilted in the winter months. She always had a hoe with her in the yard in case she encountered a snake. She never learned to drive, was actually a little afraid of riding in a car.  Never ever showed her knees, her dresses were always on the long side, and as far as I know never put on a pair of pants in her life.
 
On Saturdays my parents would drop me off for the day with Grandma.  I would be greeted with a wonderful hug and kiss (oh how I still miss those hugs).  She would put the coffee on, which was boiled on the stove in an old perculator, and served in an old Jadeite mug. That is probably why I still love strong coffee LOL, minus the grounds of course.  And for a snack we had homemade warm biscuits with butter and brown sugar.  When I want comfort food, that is what I want even as an adult. We would discuss the weeks events, like most Grandmothers and Grandchildren.  She was full of wisdom, and love. Unconditional love, which when you are a troubled teenage girl that is what you need.  She never judged. The only time she disciplined me was when I was at that stage when hormones were raging, and I didn't have my emotions under control. Her only statement to me was don't be ugly.  That word "ugly" was the one word that gave me pause, and made me think about what I was saying.  I pull it out now once in awhile in my head when I know that I shouldn't say what I am thinking lol.

Her kitchen was not a modern one by today's standards.  She had a hand pump at her sink that hooked to her well.  She did not have true running water until the 1970's, when my father insisted on putting in a faucet.  But what she did have was a wonderful cabinet which I would later learn was a Hoosier.  It was the center of all her kitchen activities.  In it held her flour with a built in sifter.  All of her baking needs were inside of this cabinet.  Her storage needs were all met by this one free standing unit.  She had painted it white to brighten up her kitchen area.  I loved opening all of the doors and drawers to see what magical things we hidden inside.  I found it to be intriguing, with all of its little hidden places.  It also had a work space that could be pulled out, and pushed back in as needed.

Several years ago, after my Grandmother passed away, my mother asked me if I would like to have the old Hoosier. Of course I wanted it, it was a part of my Grandmother, and a huge piece of my past.

Little did I know what that was going to involve.  I had done some small refinishing jobs in the past, so I thought sure I can handle this LOL.  Famous last words, of someone in over their head, who has no clue what was really going to happen.  Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon.
Mary and Cathy

Why We Love Our Vintage Pieces

My sister and I go to resale shops, flea markets, antique stores and garage sales just to browse.  Each of us will stop in front of different pieces and say "I remember that" or "my Mother or Grandmother had one of those".  So these are items we tend to pick up as we go on our treasure hunts.

We thought we were unique until we started to receive messages from our customers at our Etsy shop and we were touched by so many of them.  People seem to want to let us know about the item they are looking at or purchasing without us ever asking.  What a wonderful sharing atmosphere we have fallen into.  Lovely people on the other end of a computer telling us their stories, never meeting us in person so we thought we would share just a few of the comments with you.

A nice gal in Texas was in the unfortunate path of the wild fires last summer and she lost her home including the dishes her mother handed down to her with only one dish remaining.  Thankfully no loss of life, but a loss of a home and treasures.  She saw our dishes and immediately contacted us and asked if we would consider holding them for her until her insurance money came through...........well of course we did.  How could we not?  Making her smile was a wonderful feeling for both of us.

Another gal's Grandmother had given her 3 starter pieces and because of that love, she is buying up as many pieces as she can.  It gives her a connection to her past.

One sweet lady bought one of our upcycled pedestals that matches her current vintage pattern she uses. She was so excited to have an add on piece that no one else in the world had, and was ready to proudly display her desserts for the holiday meal.

One artist was looking for a vintage glass patterned serving platter in a unique design.  She found one in our shop and felt she could now do justice in photographing her beautiful jewelry she wanted to sell.

So we are not alone in our adventure in treasure hunting, which is wonderful because we now have so many new friends, even though we have never met.  Some have asked us to look for specific patterns and they will buy them no matter what.  We never thought we would be in this position just from a little shopping for fun, but here we are in this wonderful spot together.

Do you have a story to tell?  We would love to hear it.
Also if you could click on our sponsor ads, we sure would appreciate it.

Have a great week....Spring is on the way!
Cathy and Mary