Goodwill hunting

Shelf of some  birds and other collectibles

Kat Mortenson mentioned the subject of this post today, so I lifted it because of timeliness; yesterday I delivered a back seat full of stuff to Goodwill, the same pile that has been sitting and growing in the guest bedroom for a couple weeks, since company departed and I have had the clean out itch. I even took it for a ride the other day running errands and forgetting to drop it off.   My purging  mood coincides with our upcoming city wide sale over Labor Day.

 I personally do not ever hold a garage, yard or estate sale because I have no patience to sit all day to earn a pittance. This means I donate lots to charity efforts and leave the selling to them.    I much prefer being on the other side of the hunt, the hunter rather than the prey, if you will. I have no patience for bargain hunters who haggle for sport--if something is marked $1, they want it for 50 cents, if it's marked $10 they want it for $5 and so on. I much prefer shoppers to hunters. I have never been one to quibble barter like that and so do not get along well where haggling is expected. If I think something is too expensive or more than I want to pay, I just walk on by. Not so with hagglers, who consider it a sport. Sometimes they are quite insulted when one does not engage.

Now to me a sale is different from an auction where bidding is quite fun.  But a sale is a sale, and the most I have done is ask, "Is this your best price?"  Sometimes it is sometimes, I am surprised by a discount.

Guest bedroom where there is once again room to
 walk by the foot of the bed

This imminent sale is an opportunity to remove the huge love seat from a guest  bedroom and truck it to our Church where they will host a sale that weekend.  The love seat belonged to MIL and I thought it would fit in the guest bedroom and offer guests  a place to sit  in their own privacy.  Despite Jerry's warning that it was too big, I insisted and  it was lifted and shoved into the corner.  He was right and the loveseat crowded access to the far side of the bed for almost two years.  So I admit (these things take time) that he was right and get it out of the house.

The thrill of the hunt is something that still surfaces from time to time and Friday after shedding at Goodwill, I took the time to browse inside.  Hey, you never know what you will find and I had time to kill, I am after all Teofil's granddaughter, so maybe I need it someday and will be happy I have it.  Read about Teofil elsewhere on this blog, and at  http://patonlinenewtime.blogspot.com/2010/03/sepia-saturday-week-16-click-here-to.html

Friday's Goodwill finds

I spent a whopping $5 at Goodwill and added  four to my collection of birds and one angel.   The most expensive is the lower right hand, robin, "Made in Occupied Japan" and for which I paid $1.49.  The angel is plastic of a sort, but interesting and will play in the angel band at Christmas, she  was Made in Hong Kong.   I believe the upper right duck is Lefton China which is often not marked and which has a Lladro type finish.  The Mallard is ceramic but painted brightly, no maker marks, but I recognize it as likely from the 1950"s or so.  And the white swan is bone china.  Not a bad gathering, and  I was pleased as could be, nothing too big and there is room on the bird shelf with my others.  

1973 Musical Owl plays
Sunrise Sunset

When we moved here and became even more avid bird watchers, I began to notice that I did have a small collection of birds to which I have added over the years.  I was thinking it started back in 1973 when Steve gave me this musical owl which plays Sunrise Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof, but then I reached onto the shelf and saw my oldest bird--a yellow plastic bird whistle that I had as a child.  It holds water and then makes a lovely tweeting sound as you blow on the whistle and the water gurgles. It kept me very entertained back in simpler times.   My grandparents had canaries and I remember loving the songs, so they found this plastic whistle for me.  It has to be about 63 years old and still works.  The plastic markings have faded and there is no longer different color paint on its beak or legs, but still there it is. 

We just never know when  a possession will lead to a collection, but over the years of  gifts, inheriting, auctions, estate sales, and thrift and Goodwill hunting we can build collections.  Earlier this week another blogger asked if I have any collections that are out of hand, not yet, although Jerry might disagree. 

My old childhood canary whistle