Canning........Snowmen!

So I have a bunch of galvanized lids that fit on mason jars.  These are from a lot of "stuff" that I bought last spring.  The lids have small holes in them.....what to do, what to do.  Well, since I love canning and I adore snowmen, I thought........

I admit, I saw something similar on Pinterest, but I really love how this little guy turned out.....now to do more.....

I also made some bobblehead witches and scarecrows.  I made four of the witches, one scarecrow, with two in process:

Well, today, I am off to finish the other scarecrows and work on some other projects.  Gotta catch up on some of the things I need to get done before my fall shows!  Have a great week!

Home at last!

What a great trip we had!  This was so much fun!  I would absolutely do this again.  But, it was sure nice to get home as well.  I am spending today unpacking, trying to find homes for my treasures and re-inventorying my purchases (also laundry, etc)  I promised pics, so here goes:

I got four suitcases and two train cases, never paying more than $4 ea

 I love this little pewter child's plate that I bought!

 I bought spindles and loads of spools of all sizes and shapes.  I got a great buy on the shoe stretchers for only $4 for the pair.

Three sifters

Some Christmas bulbs

Some spoons, a couple of amber baby bottles and some crocheted doilies

                                        This is a lap quilt that I picked up for a meager $3!

 This quilt was only $20 and I picked up two rotary phones for $6 ea (wait till you see what I am going to do with these!)

Five Graters

I loved these two little wooden cats!

Smoky was curious just to see what I brought home.  You can see the enamelware pans, baby shoes, small cabinet, coffee pots, silver tray, kitchen utensils, etc.

And more pot lids, salt and pepper shakers, wooden sconces and rolling pins.

For eight days, car rental, hotels, gas, food, admission to Graceland, out of pocket, not including purchases was around $1100 each.  I only spent $200-250 on all the things that I bought.  I think that is a pretty reasonable vacation!  If you want to do this next year, here are some things I learned:

It is hot.  And I mean really HOT.  Take water and stop often for cold drinks.  Bring sun block and rain wear.  Shoes need to be comfy and well broken in.  Many of the places were muddy and I heard some people complaining about mud getting in their sandals.  Pack some snacks.  If you don't want to eat from the barbeque vendors that are at most of the locations, you will find restaurants are few and far between, with long lines and crowds. Most locations have porta-johns, that are hot and stinky at best.  Take some butt wipes with you as well as hand sanitizer.  We also found disinfecting cloths useful.

Before I left for the trip, I purchased a pull behind shopping cart.  You know the wire ones that fold flat and can hold a couple of shopping bags.  Well, I used it once and decided it was too much of a hassle.  It was hard to navigate through the booths and the mud.

We did research.  Sue was much better at this than me, printing maps, state info on attractions and lodging, and lots of info on the sale itself.  Sometimes there is not great signage, so all that info helped.  And use your cell phones.  We were able to find lodging at the best prices at nearby locations as well as navigating to restaurants and attractions.  Hotels were relatively inexpensive and with one exception, we were pleased.  Check out Pinterest for tips and suggestions on the best shopping locations and things to bring.

For the most part, vendors were pleasant and expected and rather enjoyed negotiations.  Sometimes I found that I could not negotiate the price that I wanted, but I would explain to the vendor that I am going to repurpose this item and then resell it, so they would either come down to my price point or explain why they couldn't.  Treat the haggling as a game and have fun with it.  It was also fun for us to ask questions.  If we didn't know what something was or how it was used, we asked.  It was very entertaining.

I think part of the reason that we enjoyed ourselves so much is that we didn't set any limits.  We didn't have a particular item we were "needing" or a specific budget to adhere to.  I guess if I had been buying furniture or big ticket items, that might have been different, and I might have felt some frustration if I didn't get what I wanted.

My last and best advice is this:  Do this with someone you care about, someone that you share likes and dislikes with, someone you respect.  My sister and I are different, but have similar values and travel well together.  Make it fun!

Well my friends, off to the grocery store and to finish my laundry.  Have a great week!

Day 7, Our last day

It's kinda sad to see our great adventure come to an end.  On the other hand, I am SO ready to get home and to sleep in my own bed.  I am looking forward to a very warm bubble bath, seeing hubs and the pets, and unloading and relishing each of my treasures.

We started out in Kentucky today at the yard sale that was advertised to have over 400 vendors.  At first, we drove by it, since most of the vendors are indoors.  Many of those vendors have permanent booths at an auction house, but many others were resellers, a few crafters, and a whole lot of crapola.  Now, I don't know if the "good stuff" was all gone or if there was never any to begin with, but we were very disappointed.

So much of the merchandise, including clothes was dirty and just thrown around on the ground.  I did find some wooden spools of all sizes and shapes, a couple of coffee pots, and a few block signs.  Sue also found a wooden step stool and some Christmas stuff.  But we had grand plans that went unfulfilled.

Hot and tired, we started our long trip home.  I am suffering tonight with allergies and swelling.

We ended our night in Blue Springs, Missouri.  We have travelled in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, and Missouri.  By the time we get home tomorrow night, we will have driven over 3400 miles.  So stay tuned later this week for pics on our purchases.  But for now, time to get these swollen feet up!

Day 6, Hot and Humid

Today we started out in Crossville, Tn.  There were alot of vendors along the 127 route in this area. We went to a total of four or five sales, including the Cumberland General Store in Clarkrange, Tn.  We had a really hard time finding a room this time and had to travel about 100 miles off of 127 to find an affordable bed.  In fact, I called one place and she said she had a room, "but its gonna be expensive because of the yard salers."  Great.....
Here are a few pics of some of the great things we saw this week.......Lots of windows.

 Pedal cars of all ages, sizes, and makers were throughout.

Tractor seats came with a hefty price tag.....

 As did lanterns......

 And some things were, well, just weird...

 This sign seemed to have "Linda" written all over it.....lol








 And the prize for the nastiest goes to this stand that was selling used undies.......

As for us, we bought some things but since the van is getting fuller, pics of our stuff will have to wait.  I bought another quilt, some spindles, more suitcases, another rack, pot lids, Christmas ornies, doilies, scrabble pieces, sterling salt shakers, and more stuff that I really can't remember.  We are bone tired and heading for an early night.  Tomorrow we are heading off to Laurenceburg, Ky
for a huge sale that supposedly has around 400 vendors.  Then we plan on taking our tired buts home.  Would love a cooler day tomorrow!

Day 5, Friday, a Full Shopping Day

What a glorious day!  The weather today was just perfect for an outdoor day of shopping.  I decided that we should look the part of the yard sale shoppers, so I made us matching shirts.  This is sister Sue in hers.  Mine is identical, with less boobage.

 I loved this old washing machine......But not enough room in the van......

 Plenty of good Southern cooking.  This was Sue's lunch, and was less than $6!

 Hubs would like this old boat motor....

I liked all the signage, too.  And there was a ton of it.

 Pretty much, something for everyone........

 Even guns for $1875!

I guess you are going to have to wait to see all my treasures because today there were enough that it was too much to carry it into the room.  Here is a short recap:

1 pair of baby shoes,

2 rolling pins,

3 rusty graters,

4 suitcases

And a partridge in a pear tree...........

Also a display rack, a couple of phones, some buttons and an old quilt......I will post pics when we unload the van.

We have driven somewhere around 1800 miles and have only gotten as far as Crossville, Tennessee. We are tired and ready for bed.  Hope to have as great a day tomorrow.....but the weather is calling for 90's and high humidity.  Stay tuned!

Day 4....The Sale Begins.....and So Does the Rain.....

We were really excited to get started on our first day of the sale.  How much fun we had!  It is absolutely craziness.  Hundreds or maybe thousands of people crowding together to get the best bargain!

 Roads are lined with vendors, food carts, tents and tables.....and the traffic.....

 Parking is sometimes difficult at best and requires patience but you can usually park once and do a bit of walking.  We had a great time......until about noon or one o'clock.  Then the rain came.  Since we hadn't eaten, we drove to find a restaurant......and drove......and drove.  We were so hungry.  We were even tempted to stop at the Cafe that listed Hardware and Worms as other offerings.  lol

I only spent $23 today, but here is what I got:

Three graters, three sifters, rusty ice skates, Christmas bulbs, artificial snow, an old coffee pot and two cute little wooden cats......I can't wait to show you what I am going to do with all this!!!!

 We got to the room early tonight in Chattanooga......room availability has been a bit of an issue right on the route.  But we have a comfortable clean room so we can get to sleep early and get an early start tomorrow......hopefully it will be a dry, but cool day.

Day3-My day with Elvis

After the night at a so-so hotel, we headed out to Graceland.

I'm not an uber Elvis fan, but Sister Sue is a fan and Graceland is a Memphis must see.  We purchased the premier package so for the two of us, it ran about $85....we had coupons and I got a senior rate.  Is it worth it?  If you are a fan, of course.  If you like his music, sure.  If you have heard of him, maybe.  If you cannot walk, do stairs, or like confined places, not really.

I enjoyed myself, especially touring Elvis' airplane, the Lisa Marie.  This is the best example I know of to represent 1970's opulence.  The plane has gold plated seat belts, a large dining room table, and for the king, a king sized bed.  The bathrooms sinks are embedded with gold and Elvis's flying bedroom was decorated in, what else?, blue suede.  

I was very fascinated and impressed with the floor to ceiling awards and gold and platinum records.

There is a ton of clothing and archival displays, but I won't bore you with all the pics.

After we were done with Graceland, and it is a good 3 + hours of self-guided, ipod narrated info, we grabbed a bite and headed toward our next destination: Gadsden, Alabama.  

So, we are here!!!!  Ready to start tomorrow!  Pray for good weather and great bargains!

Day 2.....Linda and Sue's big adventure

This morning we slept in a bit, had breakfast at our hotel and headed to Arkansas!

We drove all day and finally made it to our Memphis hotel by early evening.....enough time to get down to Beale Street for some southern cookin'.

Even on a Tuesday night, Beale Street was rockin'!  We had dinner at Miss Polly's.  The fried apple pies were to die for!

 We also had to trade in the minivan for a more appropriate way to travel:

Ha ha!  I wish!

More tomorrow......We are off to Graceland in the morning and then off to Alabama for the start of the sale!

Day 1....Monday's big adventure.

Well, today was primarily a travel day for us.  We left our homes a little before 6AM and picked up our minivan in Denver.  The car is actually quite comfortable.  We drove back roads since Sue really wanted to take the scenic route.  Actually we saw alot of corn fields, cows, and semi trucks.  We were happy starting out!

Today we drove around 700 miles, going through Colorado, Kansas and ending up in Oklahoma.

In Dodge City, Kansas, we toured the Boot Hill Museum.  Not highly recommended since it was like every other touristy western town. 

Tonight we are staying in Oklahoma City but didn't get here and checked in until after midnight.  Tomorrow we are heading toward Memphis.  Hopefully we will get some rest and be ready to go visit Graceland!

127 Sale or Bust......

Bright and early on Monday, my sister Sue and I are leaving on our next great adventure.  We have always wanted to do the 127 Corridor Sale also known as the World's Largest Yard Sale.  This sale stretches for 690 miles, starting in Alabama and ending in Michigan.  Sue celebrates 60 years of being on this earth on August 12, so what better time to go?  The sale officially begins on Thursday, August 6 and runs through Sunday, August 9.  We plan on being tired and happy with a new stash of treasures purchased at great bargain prices.

We have been warned....traffic sucks.....bathrooms are rare....parking atrocious.  But did that damper our spirits?????  Heck no.  We love a good challenge.  We are renting a minivan and taking our time heading down to Alabama.  We plan on stopping when we want, where we want, and enjoying the journey.

No needs for me, but I would love to find treasures that can be repurposed or used as displays.  I have heard rumors that although some prices are antique store rates, that there are still bargains to be found!

So stay tuned.  I plan to post nightly if I can.  I plan on a whole bunch of pics!

In the mean time, I have been working on a few items.

 This little tree I bought at a garage sale for $1.50.  I covered the base with homespun, added rusty bells and berries, gave it a good flocking and put a rusty angel on top.

I guess I was in a silly mood.  My normal bobblehead just seemed to need a little something extra.....I mustache you if you think he is as funny as me......See there what I did???  Guess I am just a bit slaphappy.  I have not had a real vacation in several years......

So hopefully I will have more to report on Monday night.......And if you are among the throngs of shoppers, send a howdy out to us!  Or better yet, join us for a glass of sweet tea!

And let me know.....should I call this Linda and Sue's Big Adventure.......or maybe.....Thelma and Louise.....the golden years......lol