A hidden surprise in an old dresser

I had plans to paint an old dresser that came from a recent auction. But, the more we looked at it, we decided it was too far gone to paint. Old furniture often has some issues. We lovingly call those issues "character". But, this one had way too much character! As in it's falling apart and beyond repair.

We decided it was worth more to take it apart for the wood. It will make great sign boards! We have learned to look at furniture as a whole, and also as parts. A whole new perspective.

The dresser was filthy, an indication that it had been stored in a barn or shed for years. When we started tearing it apart, we found more evidence of that..........

 

Deep inside the dresser, on the back wall behind the drawers were the usual cobwebs. But it's the first time we've ever seen footprints. See them on the right side? A raccoon had taken up residence in the dresser!

 

If that doesn't add character, I don't know what does?

 

Not sure that's a good thing though!

A junker's heart

There's 2 times of year that we seem to do exceptionally well at buying "junk" for the store.

In the spring when we're weeding/planting/mulching flowers & vegetables.
In the summer when we're harvesting/canning/freezing fruits & vegetables.

Which results in organized unorganized chaos.

Why can't the good junk come during a lull?
Never mind, we never have lulls.

Anyway......

Last Saturday, the guys split up and went to 2 different auctions.
Both said, "I should have taken the trailer".

 

George came rolling in first with his load.

He's an old pro at this.

 

 

Kevin came rolling in next.

This was his first solo run.

 

I think he's got the hang of it already!

 

 

Next came the story telling.

A vital part of every auction.

 

Then came the unloading/sorting/cleaning.

Then the reloading/taking to store/unloading. 

And then the pricing/rearranging/placing on floor.

Which make the few hours standing in the sun/bidding/loading at the auction look easy.

 

Why do we do it?

 

We're junkers at heart.

 

That's a good/crazy/fun/embarrassing/cheap/thrifty/ridiculous thing.

Take your pick.

  



Hidden treasures

Here is the church

Here is the steeple

Open the doors

And see all the people

Did you do this when you were little? I remember my mom teaching to me, and then when I was all grown up and had my own little ones, I taught it to them.

I was reminded of it recently when we were out "picking" and found this:

Isn't it a pretty cabinet? I would have never guessed what's inside: Open the doors and there's a...

television!

How cool is that?

Actually, the story gets even better. This was in a barn on a customer's farm. She and her husband moved back to the farm after it had sat empty for 10 years. The farm had been in the family for 200 years, and is filled with keepsakes. They have restored the house, updating it, but keeping it's original flavor intact. It's absolutely beautiful.

The house is filled with family antiques, but, it's just not possible to keep everything. At some point, the first TV the family owned got moved to the barn.

When my customer showed the TV to us she saw that there were a couple boxes stuck in the back of it. After much tugging, we finally worked them loose. The boxes turned out to be 2 more antiques! An old radio, and an old record player. Both with the wood box frames.

Talk about hidden treasures!

Excitement filled the air. How fun!

One of the rooms in their house is a music room, and is filled with records & CD's. I'm sure by now the radio & record player have found places of honor.

Well, you don't run into that kind of hidden treasure every day. But if you have little ones in your life, be sure to teach them about those hidden people right inside their very own hands.

Precious memories!







Country Life = Fern Determination

I've always admired big Boston Ferns on a front porch, but I've never bought one until this year. Last Saturday in fact. I knew just where I wanted to put it. A little table behind my two rocking chairs.

 

This may seem an odd spot to take a picture of it, but I was looking out the door on Sunday morning, and kind of liked the perspective. So, I snapped a photo.

 

It was pretty windy on Sunday morning, but that is a protected area. Or so I thought.

I came home after church to find the fern on the floor. Upside down.

 

I picked it back up, and sat it back on the table, then went in the house for lunch.

I heard a thump.

It was back on the floor.

 

So, I found an old kettle, put it on the table, and then placed a rock inside the kettle.

I set the fern in the kettle.

 

Kettle. Rock. Fern.

We're good now.

 

Monday (today) it's still windy. No problem.

I went to town. Came home. Glanced at the porch to admire the fern.

 

It's on the floor.

Upside down.

With the kettle on top of it.

And the rock.

 

Ok then. So it's not a protected area.

 

George said, "just keep it on the floor".

But I bought it to put on the table.

 

Where there's a will, there's a way.

I just haven't found it yet.

But I will.

The antiques are off the trailer

My last post showed a trailer full of stuff from an auction. What was in that trailer? Let's see:

A sink/washtub from a dairy. I put this out on the floor, and within a couple hours it was sold. She is going to plant flowers in it. How pretty that will be!

 

Lots of enamelware. Notice the tall stack near the back right. I'm not sure what that is? If I take the top two pots off, it becomes a double boiler. But it all seems to fit together, so what would that be? Triple boiler? Quadruple boiler? Hmmm.

 

 

Gallon jars. The cardboard box they were in said Coca Cola on the side. It had dividers in it, and the jars fit perfectly, so it seemed to be their original box. There's no markings on the jars though, other than 1 gallon. I threw the box away. It was a filthy, nasty, mouse poo filled mess. I like antiques, but I do draw a line!

 

 

Miscellaneous junk! You never know what you'll find when you start digging down through an auction box! If you like rusty & crusty, then this table is for you.

 

 

More rusty & crusty! Oh the flower pot possibilities! In fact, some of this has already sold for just that purpose.

 

 

A hillside plow, and plow points. The hillside plow has already sold. Yep, you guessed it - for a flower bed!

 

 

Porch posts. I'm always wishing I had porch posts for sale. Last week, I bought some from a customer. Then I bought more at the auction. I've got so many now I can't get them all out on the floor. When it rains, it pours!

 

 

Basket lids and rug beaters.

 

 

Tall bushel baskets. I didn't know what a tall basket would be used for. It seemed like any produce you put in it would be crushed. I turned to facebook for the answer. Apples, potatoes, corn and green beans were the top answers, with green beans probably getting the most mentions. Thanks for the help guys!

 

 

Tractor seats. Lots of people like to buy these and turn them into stools.

 

 



Washtubs. Again, great for flower beds. See the small pot in the front? It's handmade. You can see the welds on all the seams. It's heavy too. I'm sure it has an interesting story, if it could only talk.

 

 

Wagon wheel hubs. The big one in the back is fragile, as in the spokes want to fall out. But come on, how cool are they?

Wheel barrows. The first one has the desired metal wheel, but is missing a handle. If you lay it on it's side though, and fill it with flowers as if they are spilling out of it, that won't be noticeable.

Wood boxes. I couldn't believe how high boxes were selling at the auction. Many were selling for $40 to $70 each! I had to be patient, and finally the price came down. Whew!

 

 A large wheel, probably off a hay rake. It's about 53 inches tall.

There was some other misc. things I didn't get pictures of - a couple mirrors, some half gallon jars, and a Hoosier cupboard that needs some TLC. I'll take a pic of it when it's ready to go to the shop.

In the middle of working on all this, we bought more stuff from a few customers, so it's been a very busy week!

Can I sleep now?