As Pretty As I could Make Them...

I now have the antique crib settee and the washstand below listed.
I don't think I could have given the bed up but I have a wicker one
that's a little larger (I think) that I'm going to keep. I think I
previously about how thrilled I was to find it in my hubby's shed
when all this time I thought he had sold my bed at Canton. I just love
these as settees - isn't it inviting and just... divine?!?!?

The washstand , you can see a bit below,
is in whisper soft pink ( so hard to
photograph because, truly, it's barely there). Outside
in the Texas sun, it's so pale that it appears white - not
pink at all. I did something new with the colors and it's
so "fresh". I whitewashed the trim in the palest apple
green, very diluted, and it's amazing how much doing that
added to it.

Click any photo to enlarge

Click any photo to enlarge

Click any photo to enlarge

Click any photo to enlarge

Click any photo to enlarge

Here's a peek at a few pretties I've listed -I hope you enjoy seeing them - some are really previews because I don't have e'thing listed yet.

Since there is much, much more to be listed (I've been painting lots of furniture) I'm going to add an eBay To Go Link to my auctions on the side bar.

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Antique Curiosities: In My Husband's Storage Sheds

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It's always a thrill for me when my husband decides to "reorganize" his treasures. He has sheds (plural) full (to the ceilings) of the items he has collected (hoarded) to repair and refurbish (let sit there for years and years). He loves (obsesses over) his "stuff" and can't hardly bear to part with any of it (would rather lose me than one piece of rust) but space (no space) sometimes demands (I beg) that he pull some out and reassess the potential of each. This sunshine Texas weekend has coaxed him outdoors and I have been watching (coveting)with an (eagle)eye towards what he might let me have(things I could swipe without him noticing). I've taken a few photos of things that intrigued me. These aren't staged to be pretty shots -just candid photos of things I've managed to take before he shooed me away. (threatened my life if I didn't move)

I was elated to find something I thought was lost forever(I told him he had sold it and I would never forgive him! He claimed it was around "somewhere".Guess I owe him an apology) My full-size antique wicker baby bed! It is perfect for a conversion to seating and just loaded with charm. It was tucked in the back of one of the sheds. (no wonder he didn't know where it was!) The springs, and all four sides were there! Yippee!!!!

These first two photo are of four chairs. Alas only one was salvagable.
I did persuade my husband to save the front legs and backs of the other three.
These chairs must be very old. We had to toss out the horsehair stuffing and old burgandy
tapestry coverings of the seat. They seats were supported with webbing. I've never
seen any like them and I'm very curious about them. Look at the designs on the chairbacks.
Click image to see details.

Below is one of my favorite items that I thought had been sold at Canton.
It is an antique stainless steel apothecary cabinet. It's wonderful! Look at
those legs... and it is sooooooo heavy!

Below is a charming old basket. It is marked Basketville, Vermont on bottom. I checked the Basketville site online and there were none like this one.

Now this bed below is fascinating! It's an iron bed but it is very tiny. Much smaller

than a twin bed. More small cot size? The motif of the ironwork trim is

a cross or shield with a sword. I'm so curious about this - I've never

seen a modern mattress this narrow.

Below is a large iron contraption that appears to be a candleholder of some sort? I don't know a thing about this.

YES!!! I know what this is! It's an old wall clock case and my sweet, darling, precious hubby said he would convert it into a little cupboard/cabinet (add shelves inside)! That's one for me!

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Trespassing for Treasure: Searching High & Low

My husband grew up in an area east of our city. He loves to drive through the streets of his old neighborhood and relate stories of his childhood. He can point to house after house once the homes of his friends, schools he attended, corner stores where he bought treats charged to his dad's credit account because the store owner knew him. Ahhhh, the good ol' days!

There was one vacant and abandoned two-story building he frequently pointed out, telling me of the different businesses this structure had housed in his lifetime. He was certain it remained full of many treasures and itched to get inside. Imagine his dismay when, in passing one evening, he realized the structure was being gutted. A large backhoe and other heavy machinery was being used to level the land behind; the missing doors and broken windows made it clear the building was going too.

He parked, hailed a man standing nearby and peppered the man with questions. During the conversation, he learned that the contents had been cleared in a sale held inside the old building a month earlier; the wonderful collectibles were all gone. My husband looked so down-heartened that the man encouraged him to go inside - he might find something overlooked.

My husband spent about an hour exploring a basement room, rare in our area, and the ground floor. He was still empty-handed. Windows were open to the upstairs but there was no way to reach the second floor. The man explained that the upstairs had once been the home of the owner and his family and the living areas had been walled off years ago. The glint in my husband's eyes sparkled... but, he couldn't find a way to scale the outside wall.

It was a brick building, and outside it went straight up. Since the ceilings were very high on the ground floor, it was at least sixteen or more feet to the small upper windows. There was a bit of roof remaining in the front; however, it was unsafe for support or climbing. There just was no way- or was there?



The man whistled to the backhoe operator, spoke to him for a minute and then the driver drove to the side of the structure, lowered the scoop and motioned for my husband and I to climb in if we wanted a lift. My husband hopped right in and reached to lift me over. I hesitated long enough to make sure there were no worms, snakes or other crawlies in the scoop first. Then up, up, we went - right to the open window. One leg over and we were in!

Alas, there wasn't much to find. I craved the gorgeous floral wool rug underfoot but as my husband pointed out - years and years of dust had left it unsalvageable. In the closets, I found some wonderful forties or earlier hats - but the moths had beat me to them. We kept looking - thrilled to explore a little bit of this historical building before it was lost forever. An hour or two later, all my husband had found was a handful of Cracker Jack toys . After all of the excitement, it was time to go.

There was only one problem. The backhoe was still in the back field but the operator was gone. In fact, it appeared e'body was gone! We had obviously been forgotten....

My husband finally spied the man who had summoned the backhoe operator. Noooo, he couldn't lift us out - he had no key and yes, the operators of all of the heavy equipment had gone home for the day. The man left and returned soon with a rickety old wood ladder -about six feet tall. He leaned that old ladder against the side and supported it as my husband climbed over the window, backwards, and easily dropped to the top of the ladder. No problem, he's six foot tall and has long legs. Then it was my turn.

I froze, petrified. At five foot one inches tall, I lacked the advantage my husband had (and I'm naturally clumsy too). My husband started softly coaxing me to climb into the open window, turn around, ease off the side allowing my legs to dangle, and drop. He would be there to catch me. Ha! Any fool could see that I was going to have to free-drop at least three feet before he could catch me. He reminded me that it would be dark soon, the old building probably had rats, and...

"Trust me," he said.

With my heart in my throat, I asked the Lord to help my children forgive my husband because he missed, climbed into the window, turned around, eased over and dropped.

Would I do it again? I don't know - it would be a really tough decision for me. The adventure/trespassing or the drop? But maybe if this fellow offered us a lift?