Yard Sale Finds

For me, the ritual of summer has to involve perusing your neighbor's junk to find out what they've been hiding away thinking they had to throw this or that out and now it's yours. So last Saturday after breakfast with Richie I stumble across a couple of neat finds, an old old typewriter for $3, with the coolest case. I would have paid that for the case and now I get the joy of tearing the machine to pieces and creating some art. The really great find though was the doll house. It's something circa 1950 made by Marx in tin. The furniture is that wonderful plastic colorful stuff we played with as a kid. I never had a tin dollhouse but my mother and I had a wood house we played with often. It was yellow because yellow was her favorite color and one year for my birthday my father wired it for lights. I think being close to Father's Day and missing them both so much made me want it even more. She wanted $60 and I was sort of sure she'd take $40 and finally traded her a piece of jewelry I was wearing, that I made myself so I get a piece of her history and she gets a bit of my art, perfect trade. I haven't decided where to put it but I did bid on another similar house on Ebay this morning so perhaps when Richie leaves in the fall I can turn one of the empty rooms into a tiny neighborhood. I kept thinking this is one of those finds you just can't pass up, or I'd kick myself for not taking it home. i love that it's loved a little by some child, that the awning is missing and I still have to figure out how to hang the plastic climbing vines or perhaps I will just fashion a few of my own. i want to crochet little bed spreads for the bed and even made a few hand made mini oval rugs like my mother and I did when I was a child.

If you have a box of the old plastic furniture and you are looking to trade a piece of jewelry or some box of beads I have here, drop me a note and let me know and I'd love to do that. I was thinking of having a garage sale this summer but rather than do a money exchange, exchange for something you wanted to get rid of. There is a website online for free things, freestyle.com. I am going to sign up today to see if there is someone who could use boxes of books or a large mirror I have sitting in the garage for something fun.

While stumbling through the garage I found an old book on issak Dennison that beloged to my brother. I may one day give it back to him after I have destroyed it with notes of my own. It's the true story of Out Of Africa, a delightful read, full of factoids and a photo of Dennys Finchatton. He was a delicately handsome man and a true romantic. When I finish it, I will fill you in on the details.

Carrie.