Sunday, September 30, 2012

Angels Angels Angels

My junking friend Lezlee suggested I dig through old photos and write about something I may have skipped in the past.  Good idea!!

So I found this photo of one of my angels made from spindles and architectural stuff. Originally made just as a project idea, I walked into Winnie & Tulula's one day and they had borrowed it to use as jewelry display. What a great idea I thought, I love it.  The wings work great for necklaces to hang and see.  I've made several of these angels in all shapes and sizes, which you can view on my spindle idea page here.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Just checking in

I've always been a pretty healthy person, and my experience with hospitals,   limited to having my children born, so abdominal surgery was a new experience.  Warning, I am writing this post under the influence of some pain meds, please excuse all spelling and grammar errors.
And since I am a blogger, documenting all parts of my life I thought I'd talk a little about the experience. Maybe helping someone else. I once heard that those patients who expect an easy recovery have it rougher than those that expect some form of difficulty. So I purposefully went into this preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.  For informational purposes I had a routine Hysterectomy, and am glad for it.

Pre-op my fears were complications, infection, and anesthesia awareness.  You bet I quizzed the anesthesiologist about the awareness issue. He made me feel better and I proceeded to allow him to put me under (didn't have much choice at that point) .  I had armed myself with information by watching  youtube videos, reading articles etc. Some people would not be comfortable with that, but I like having all the information I can, albeit a little discomforting.  On a funny note, knowing the Dr would be using a camera, I asked if pictures would be taken of my insides. She said yes, and I have asked to see them. She actually took extra photos which she will show me on my follow up visit. I actually can't wait to see the inside of myself. My son however, thinks this is gross. I will not be posting these on my blog however:)
It has all been pretty strait forward and I'm happy to say I'm home and recovering nicely.  I told my hubby I needed 4 things on my bedside table "phone, remote, computer, a drink". I've added a few items to my list.  Above you see my "nest". Complete with movies, pain meds, remote, phone, computer, glasses, iced tea, long arm grabber (which i use a lot) and trash can. That pretty much sets me up from my perch for all my needs.

 A few helpful hints and unexpected surprises. (G rated surprises)

Post anesthesia gave me a hangover. Having never had a hangover I did not realize that is what I was battling. My head was spinning, light and noise were irritating (and this is when my IV bag machine started beeping incessantly) but it all lifted about an hour after I started feeling it. 

Pain has not been a huge issue. although not in the place I expected. The incisions are not a problem, but the area internally where they did the work, is very sore. I am far more mobile than I expected to be. And many movements I thought would hurt, do not .  So stairs are not as big a problem as I had expected.


The secret to getting the doctors office to call you back... Get in the shower. The secret to getting the doctor to show up to release you...call their office the second before they walk in the door. The secret to getting transferred from post op to your room...have husband leave to go to the restroom, only to return to find you gone and have to track you down. Notes for next time.

If you live in East Texas, I highly recommend Mother Frances Hospital. We had a wonderful experience.
Private room was apparently standard issue, very attentive staff that were very concerned with keeping things clean, sterile, and keeping me and my husband comfortable. There was a couch and recliner in the room for the caregivers which was a nice surprise.

So that is part of my post surgical experience so far. I will not be junking in any extreme form for at least 6 weeks. My etsy store is on vacation mode, but I will re-open is soon with the smaller non heavy items, and I have 100 items ready to list that have not yet been listed, so lots of new stuff coming.

I'm bored and so comments are welcome and enjoyed, as the computer is my best friend right now :)

Thank you,
Margo

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Nothing warms up a space like a nice wool blanket

Ever since the Bonanza, and their abundance of Vintage Wool Blankets, I've been on the look out. It's still warm here, but there is a hint of Fall in the air.

I managed to find most of these this weekend, all from estate and garage sales. Bring on the cooler temps!
Cozy

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Some projects from my Bonanza finds



 I showed you a couple of the fun small finds that I brought back from the Bonanza. Here's what I did with them.
No junk was damaged in making these necklaces. Everything is still fully functional. The memo pad opens and so does the little shell purse. There is even a sweet heart inside the purse. I just  love mini purses, and making sweet necklaces out of them. I might just have to keep that one.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Garage Saleing in Shakopee MN


On Saturday, I felt I had shopped the bonanza dry, so I headed out, following garage sale signs. The only problem, which sign to follow. OMG!!!!


Limited to smalls, here is what I found. 2 vintage granny square stockings at least 35 years old, according to seller. A potato masher and this sweet little memo pad with built in pencil

see how tiny it is
still has it's pencil

Then I followed this Barn/Estate sale sign and found all of these goodies, that I had to leave behind.
Such a heart break!!!!

Can't wait till next year



My etsy store will be closing for a short time next week to all ow me to recover from my surgery
So if there is something you want, better get it now. Use coupon code junkbonanza15, good through the 24th, for a 15% discount on any non sale item.




Saturday, September 15, 2012

Junk Bonanza Fall 2012 Photo essay

The Junk Revolution store was full of these fabulous flannel shirts and lots of junker t-shirts.

The junk was fabulous, and there were project ideas too.
Letters are still big sellers, as are these vintage European olive buckets.
Lots of vintage Christmas as well.

The people came and shopped and shopped and shopped.

It's all over now, the trucks are loaded, and the lights are going out. It will all start again in the spring. See here for information on the next Junk Bonanza.





Friday, September 14, 2012

How to pack up the goodies when buying on the road

Last time I wrote about my travels, I had lots of folks ask how I packed my stuff to bring it home . So this time I photo documented the process. Sorry for the poor quality, I used my phone to take the pics.

First I lay everything out so I can see it

I've already hit the Walmart to buy their largest box and some packing tape. For this trip I also packed a bag in a bag so I can fill one bag and check it (I have an American Airlines Credit Card so I get one bag checked for free) for the flight home.
I first disassembled my fabulous counter top bolt display piece. Place in the box and tried to distribute the weight evenly.Then for a test I began to place my other long and non breakable items around it to see how much room I had. Always looking to make the most of the empty spaces. As you can see I am ending up with a lot of empty space so I'll fill it with old newspaper, and dirty clothes to ship back home. Everything will be protected and secured before I seal this box up.
Now for the suitcase. Which gets breakables, and smalls. I had purchased a unique box. All boxes, tins, etc I fill with product to maximize space. This will also help the box to keep it's shape for the journey home.
The box is placed in the bottom of my suitcase, with other items stuffed around it. Again, I'll use clothing and newspaper to fill in the gaps. Careful to keep the weight of the suitcase under the airline limit.

There you have it. Each time I travel I pick up new tips and ideas for packing it back home. It's a good idea to know the dimensions of the inside of the box and your suitcase, when buying, to make sure you don't get anything too long or large to fit.

Nothing is exempt from becoming packing material...Ladies you know what these are :)





Thursday, September 13, 2012

Etsy Rocks the house at the Junk Bonanza


One of the booths I had to visit was the Etsy booth, managed and designed by my team the vestiesteam on Etsy. Martha and other vesties outdid themselves with an eclectic mix of live ETSY sellers ready to wheel and deal their vintage wares.
I thought this was one of the best most colorful and variety filled spaces of the whole show.
And I'm so proud to be part of the Vestiesteam myself.Look for more posts to come, I'm dog tired.






Tuesday, September 11, 2012

As I pack my Bags for the Junk Bonana-or how to understand a Texan

Must be read in your best Texas thinking voice. Written in as good a Texan as can be put into words.

As I'm packin my Bags for tha Junk Bonanza, I always look forward to headin north to Minnesota. I have alotta friends up there as well as some family and I try da see everyone. One of the "cultural" diff-ern-ces I find, that really lets me know I'm somewher else, is tha accent. If you've never been to Minnesota you can hear their fabulous accent which is similar to the movie Fargo, which you can listen to here


So you can imagine how my East Texas accent makes me stand out a lil bit. I'll never forget the time I went through a drive thru and said "Do Ya'll have Doctor Pepper?" I'm pretty sure I lost her at "Ya'll" and the rest just sounded like garbage to her. I finally slowed it down and pronounced all my consonants and rounded out my o's and she fine-ly understood. ..The answer was "no". Now What's up with that. Don't they know how good Dr Pepper is up there???

For a sample, kinda, of maybe not what I sound like, but what I hear on a daily basis, enjoy this scene from Bernie.


So that's where I live, behind the Pine curtain. I thought I'd take a moment to hep Ya'll understand a little Texan to hep you out if we meet up. So here goes.

First off, Every soft drink is "coke" not pop, not soda, "coke". This can cause some confusion, but we get by.

Ya'll is a contraction for "you all" and pretty much a staple of a true Texan, but it never comes at the end of a sentence, at least not around here. We never use it like Paula Dean ie "stir in some butter Ya'll". It would be more appropriate ie "Now ya'll need to stir in some butter" But only if there were more than one cook, because it's plural ya see, never singular.

Fixinto means "I'm getting ready to or I'm going to" as in "I'm fixinto go to the store do ya'll want some cokes?"

Here are a few other things you might hear come outta my mouth, some from this web site, some I added.

Catty Whompus - Used to Describe Something That Doesn't Fit Properly or Is out of Line.
Come Hell or High Water - Determination to Proceed, Regardless of the Problems or Obstacles.
Conniptions - To Have Conniptions Is to Get Upset and Raise a Ruckus.
Fit to Be Tied - Really Upset.
Gully-washer - An Extraordinary Amount of Rain.
Over Yonder - A Directional Phrase Meaning "Over There."
Whole Nuther Thing - Something Else Entirely
Road hard and put up wet-from horse riding, means "tired"
If it'd been a snake it wouldda bit ya-it's right in front of your (or my) face and didn't see it.

One more thing to note is that we lost our "g's" somewhere along the line and if they come at the end of a word like going, or doing then we just don't say em, as in goin, doin etc.

I won't be upset if you ask me to repeat myself so feel free. I'm used to it when I travel. And my accent isn't even that bad. When I go to the flea market or deal with some of my picker friends, Woo hoo Katie Bare the Door. It really is like a whole nother country.

Friday, September 7, 2012

It's Junk Bonanza Time

On Wednesday I'm off to Minnesota for the one and only




They'll be projects
Gear
Friends
And of course the Best Junk all assembled in one place that You'll ever see.

LMK if you are going, Maybe we'll bump into each other.
To keep up with my adventures click the Facebook button above and then like my Facebook page for regular reports and updates.



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Last Week's Finds and a busy September to come

Last Week I played hookie from work and headed out to First Monday Flea Market. The weather was nice for Texas in August thanks to the hurricane. We are inland far enough that we just get some wind and occasionally some rain, when the hurricanes hit the coast.

There was no shortage of vendors or junk this month. I knew I had to go now because at the end of Sept, I'm having Surgery (nothing major) but I'll be unable to do this kind of junking for at least 6 weeks.

This was my favorite find. Always a sucker for some good rusty junk. This dealer wanted to get rid of these, and so I snagged them all.

Some of my smalls

And what a fabulous mirror and frame. The mirror broke just after this photo was taken, Expletives were uttered, But oh well. I'll paint the frame and sell it without the fabulous mirror. Someday I'll learn to be more careful.

The Bonanza is next week, I can hardly believe it's already here, September has sneaked up on me.

Next week is the Junk Bonanza, then Round Top/Warrenton and then the Medical stuff (yuck)
A true junker schedules her medical stuff around the junk shows ;)


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