Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Hoarding In A Good Way?


 Get ready for a lot of photos.  Quality not very good as I only had my phone with me.  I was called to help this lady figure out WHAT TO DO!  A relative passed away a year ago and the family is over-whelmed.  Me too!  As we were walking in the front door she said "Are you ready for this?"  I have seen a lot of collections, BUT this was unbelievable!


Every room is crammed with china cabinets full to the brim.
Every inch of every wall loaded with something.  


 We are talking about a serious collector of everything.  Or a person with a serious problem.


It wouldn't be possible to have an estate sale.  No room to walk, people would steal or break things. 


 The family has been working on sorting through things for a year.  You would never know it from looking around.  So much Stuff!!!


Layer upon layer.  How could a person even begin?  It's not dirty or trashy like you will see on the HOARDERS TV show.
This is quality hoarding.


 I started thinking crazy thoughts.....I'll have to rent a warehouse or open a store.  Maybe I can do a buy-out and have inventory for the rest of my life!


Then I started to feel tired anticipating all that work.  What am I thinking???


This is just a hallway.  Not only is there major amounts of furniture, but every drawer and shelf has something inside.

This is a small sample of the hundreds of shadow boxes on every wall.  Each has so many treasures. 















All these photos are just a small sample.  You wouldn't believe this place.  On one hand it makes me excited to think of uncovering treasures.  But the other part of me is saying don't do it.

I'm not kidding....this house has more inventory than any of our local antique stores.  

Oh, another crazy thing...there is a huge antique organ upstairs.  How in the hell would we ever get it out.  

Didn't get a picture of the craziest.....a life size statue of Jesus in the shower.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Add A Little Love To Your Life

 Tomorrow my son and daughter will be leaving for Pasadena.  It's been a busy week of getting everyone packed for their new adventures.  Joe who is 18 (and my baby) is off to attend college.  Jennie is going with him to help unpack and set him up in his new apartment.  It's a 6 to 7 hour drive from our house.  Needless to say, I'm having anxiety...but also so excited for his future.

 One of my 50 cent estate sale finds last week.  It's from the 1970's and much cuter than the photo shows.  I wanted Jennie to model this, but we ran out of time.
Also bought this blue velvet hat with a rhinestone bow adornment.

Feeling domestic and motherly, I made 2 jars of Icebox Pickles.  So easy and delicious.  Recipe at the end of post.

Lastly, I just wanted to say I love my goats.
They fill my heart with love and will be helping me get through empty nest syndrome.

How to Make Icebox Pickles

6 cups sliced unpeeled cucumbers
1 cup sliced red onion
1 cup sliced green bell pepper
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1 Tablespoon salt
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup white sugar

Combine all ingredients in a glass jar or crock.  Cover and stick in the fridge.  The longer they sit the tastier they will be.  They will keep up to 3 months in the fridge.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Turquoise Gods Rain on Me

I couldn't believe my luck yesterday!  It happened to be my day to work at the antique store with Linda.  We were having a conversation about how I was just learning to love turquoise jewelry after living in Arizona for 38 of my 50 years.  I was telling her how I would love to have a squash blossom necklace.  Within 10 minutes or so, a lady walked in with a box of turquoise and silver jewelry!  In this was the necklace I'm wearing above.  I asked how much she wanted for everything and she said $200.00!  Linda and I bought everything.  She knew I wanted the necklace so a fair deal was to let her have everything else.  I still can't believe I finally own a squash blossom necklace!
Predominately they were made by the Navajo Tribe.
Gorgeous, gorgeous!!!
These necklaces are getting harder to find as most are in museums or sell for thousands of dollars.

It is signed Joe T Lowe who would have been the silversmith.  I searched for information on him and found that his hallmarks are from the 1970's when Native American jewelry was at it's peak.

I am so happy!!!!

Monday, July 15, 2013

1950's Romance, True Confessions, Secrets.........


While working on my booth recently,  I spotted this painting in my friend Linda's booth.  Something about it captured my attention, maybe the colors.  Linda gave it to me as I had just given her a hat and scarf that I have had a long time.  I was sick of looking at them in my booth and she sells mostly vintage clothing items.  I was very happy with the trade off.

And THEN on a random trip to Cottonwood, AZ I scored on 19 vintage romance magazines all from the 1950's.

I was looking through the pile drooling when the shop owner told me how ladies have been coming in and buying one or two and how fun they are to read.  So I bought the whole pile before anyone else could have them.  She looked at me like I was crazy.

I've started reading one called LIFE ROMANCES dated 1952 with articles titled:  I MARRIED A GANGSTER, LOVE-STARVED WIDOW, WE FLED IN SHAME, SHOULD YOU DATE YOUR BOSS, HOW TO KEEP YOUR HUSBAND FAITHFUL, etc..............

Very entertaining reading and the ads are crazy.

These magazines are making me have butterflies in my stomach.  It's like getting a collection of vintage dresses!
Going into the antique store


Here's another cute purchase my daughter claimed.

These items were bought at an estate sale along with some vintage clothes and hats I will show in another post.

The week before, we took a trip to Pasadena, California to get my son set up for college.  He will be attending the LA Music Academy for Music Professionals.  Pasadena is a pretty city with-in the Los Angeles area.
The boy was in bass heaven.

We found great restaurants and mostly had sushi or fish.  My theory is to eat fish when I'm near the ocean and not in the middle of the desert where we live.

Our main purpose of the trip was to find him housing.  We finally found an apartment.  This is the view down the street.  I'm very happy with the location and he can walk 4 blocks to the school.  Seems like a safe neighborhood.


A little bit of craziness going on in the hotel room.

Since we've been back home...thank you Mother Nature for the beginnings of the Monsoon rains!  It starts with torment...a few rain drops that do nothing for the dry forrest.  A few days of this.  Then hurricane like winds with huge downpours.  Finally some decent rain.  My grandma used to say "Arizona is the only place I know that it can rain and still have sunshine".  It's true.  You can have rain in one part of your yard and maybe an area where it's not.

Thank you for all your concern about our fire and lost firefighters.  The fire was totally contained and the town has had memorial services.  Now to rebuild lives and the homes lost.  Many activities and fund raisers have been happening. Our town really pulled together.



Saturday, July 6, 2013

Our Community Rocked To The Ground

This is a difficult post to write, but I feel I must address the horrific events that have happened in our small community.
One week ago today, we had another wild fire in our area.
The previous fire had just been contained.  This one was started by a lightening strike.  As I mentioned in my previous wild fire post, we haven't had rain since January.  It is very dry in our area, pine needles are crisp and trees are dying.  You might have heard reports of this fire as 19 of our elite Hot Shot Firemen were killed.
The small ranching community of Yarnell is a part of Prescott, AZ where we live.  It is a short drive over the mountains.  Many people have horses, cattle and other livestock.  Now homes and lives are destroyed.
High winds caused the fire to change directions and trap the firemen in a horrible death.
Being in a small community, everyone here knows one of the men who were killed or they are connected somehow.

They leave behind wives, girlfriends, children, friends, etc...

Our town has pulled together along with the entire country mourning, but creating fund raisers and honoring these heroes.

Thank you to all the men and women who protect us from life's dangers.