Vintage Treasures

Are there ‘things’ in your life that you associate to a person that was very special to you?

Yesterday Louie and I went junkin’. I KNOW! You’d have never guessed, had I asked you ‘Do you know Louie and I did today?’ I was looking on Craigslist the other day for  ‘sewing machines’ (Hey! I can LOOK! I can’t help it!!!! It’s an addiction…I have to look!) ANYWAY, in the results, I found a GARAGE SALE that goes on all the time in that area. I told Louie about it, and we went today. What a wonderful place! It is on someone’s country home property, just off the highway, in a HUGE machine shed. The building is new, and neat, clean, and organized. The prices are good too. Look what I found!!! I have been wanting one of these GE electric skillets for-EVER!

When I was a little girl, and my dad was alive, he had one just like this. Same color, everything…except in my very young mind, I remembered it about 1/2 again as big. I have learned though, over the years, that as an adult, the things you remember as big as a child, end up being much smaller when you see it as an adult. Why is that? Anyway, for $4, it didn’t take me long to grab it and hold onto it like I was protecting it from any evils life would throw at me. It definitely needed some cleaning though. Between my sweet hubby and I, we took it all apart and cleaned it. Louie took off the legs, and sprayed some automotive bug/tar removal stuff on the old, baked on greasy areas, and removed quite a bit, then brought it into me, and I finished up scrubbing the little leftover, hard to get to places, with a toothbrush and another bigger brush, and scouring powder. It looks ‘almost’ new again on the outside. The inside has some ‘freckles’ that aluminum gets, but  it’s old, it’s supposed to have freckles. I doubt I will ever use it. It’s just part of a visual memory of my past, but it’s mine!

I also found this West Bend teflon coated crock from the ‘70’s. I don’t think it had been used too many times. The instruction sheet was included for $4.38. The Flea Market Style magazines on the table are magazines that I bought. They are SO fun to look through and see what other people have done with their ‘Flea Market’ finds. I got the fall issue at Walmart, but I ordered the Spring issue, because I loved the Fall issue.

Ok, hold onto your seat, sit down, or whatever you do when you need to brace yourself. Ok. Ready? My HUSBAND (not I) bought a sewing machine yesterday!  It was in a cabinet with LOTS of accessories and neat gadgets. It was hidden in a cabinet and the way the cabinet was made (home made) I thought it was just an empty sewing machine cabinet, until I walked around to the back and could see the bottom of it peeking out. The cabinet actually had a sign on top saying that the accessories were in the drawers. I thought, ‘Oh, maybe someone bought the machine, and donated the cabinet back to them’ (like we do so many times), especially since it had no price on it, and they didn’t take the sign off the top. Louie asked how much, and before I even had a chance to think about it, he said, ‘We want it’.

Now, believe it or not, I would have said ‘NO’. I didn’t need another machine. I already have a Singer 500A (Rocketeer) in a portable. Rolling my eyes, we loaded it into the van. Here is the AFTER. I wrote another post, which is just below this one, showing you the transformation, as I made a few changes to the cabinet, that to me, make it a much nicer setup.

I covered the head with a goodwill pillow sham so I can leave the head up, and not stored in the cabinet.

It sews like a dream. I only adjusted the tension a little bit, and I haven’t even cleaned it up, or oiled it. I may do some oiling later, but it now lives in my office. It will be nice to be able to mend something quickly if I need to, or play upstairs if I want to. I did have to do some rearranging of furniture, but I think this will work out nicely.

Today is our 36th wedding anniversary. I love my man more than words could ever convey. I feel so blessed to have him in my life, and I thank God every day for such a blessing.

Have a wonderful day, whatever you do.

Michelle