Playing Catch-Up

This week, "catch-up" = "clean-up." 
After being gone for 15 of the past 20 days, there hasn't been a lot of cleaning going on around here, though there have been people in residence.  I was the only one out of town.

After all the cleaning I have been doing, I awarded myself a break yesterday morning.  The sewing room is in no shape for sewing, so I left.  Instead, I participated in one of my favorite Saturday morning activities:  I went to an estate sale.

Funny, because I spent a good portion of the past month cleaning my dad's things.  He's been in the house since I was 4 years old.  That means he's been there for 53 years.  That's enough time to accumulate a lot of things.  Either fortunately, or unfortunately, he has been steadily clearing out.  He told me, "I've never passed up a chance to throw things away."  This means that things treasured by my mom are no longer there.  Things treasured by him rule the roost.  There are books and magazines and newsletters and more books and more magazines and more newsletters...well, I think you get the picture.  Lots of paperwork.  Not so many trinkets.

And so, I went to an estate sale, ostensibly "just to look."  I came away with a few goodies:

 This little cabinet is incredible.  It has 5 drawers, and a bottom cupboard.  It is hand-carved, and they sold it to me for $50.  I imagine it as a catch-all for crazy-quilting paraphernalia.  Unfortunately, there is no room in the studio.  For now, it is in the living room.

 Isn't the carving amazing?  I couldn't leave it behind.  I knew it would haunt me.

 It was the fish that hooked me.  I'm always looking for simplified fish models.

I also found the blue pitcher, yellow bowl, green frog ornament, and wire basket.  The total cost of these four items?  $8.  How could I pass them up?

The bowl is almost exactly what I was looking for.  I have a collection of good-sized beach rocks, and I thought it would be perfect to hold them.  When I put them in, the basket looks empty.  I have fewer rocks than I thought.  Good thing we're off to the beach next month!

I love the pitcher. It fits right in on my pitcher shelf.  See?

 The shelf extends the width of the room.  It's almost full.  I only have one other of this shape, hiding back there in orange.  I think I paid $30 for the orange one, and $4 for the blue.  I've seen them as high as $65, in antique malls.

 And here's the little Waechtersbach bowl.  There is something about solid colored pottery that makes me happy.  I don't know if it's the glaze, or the smooth lines, could be either or both.  All I know is that they put a smile on my face, and it was a lot more fun choosing them than staying home to do more cleaning.

I tell you what, when it comes to my estate, my kids are going to have a field day.  My goal?  To have it organized and clean and fun to sort through.  Goals are good!

Today's goal?  To run my sewing machine. 
As I said, goals are good!!