The Time Has Come

We have discussed this for several years now but the time has come. We are putting our Findlay home on the market. Yeah, I know, this is not the time to try to sell a house but it is time for us! Even though we have lived in Findlay for 47 years, our life is now on Sanibel. We have made many friends down there and of course we are very involved in volunteering for CROW. We became Florida residents a couple of years ago and finally made the decision to spend all of our time down there.

So, when we came back north a couple of weeks ago, I really kind of dreaded it. Not because it would be the last time (hopefully) that we would come north for this long but because of all that we have to do this summer. I spent all last week cleaning like crazy and going through drawers, cupboards, closets, bookshelves etc and either pitching stuff or lugging it to the barn for a garage sale. Now, we (well actually it's up to me since Mr. Snowbird doesn't really care) are trying to decide which real estate company to call. Do we go with a local company or with a national (but locally owned) company like ReMax or Century 21? I think we will go national hoping that they get the word out better. Anybody had any experience with this sort of thing?

I want to have an auction to get rid of most of the furniture and my collections of Hummels, Ruby Glass, bells, Cabbage Patch dolls, antiques etc. But, I am also having a garage sale to get rid of other stuff which would probably sell at an auction but I'm going to do the garage sale thing anyway. You can see what the garage now looks like. I don't think there is any way I will find room for all of it. Possibly two sales??

And on top of all that we have to do, we are leaving in a couple of weeks for a 12 day trip to Ireland. I know we will have a ball on the trip but the minute we get back, we will have to get back at cleaning, getting rid of stuff, scheduling an auction, hoping we get a buyer etc.

Anybody want to buy a 100 year old home?

So, What Did You Do Today?

When you are retired, most of your days have no routine to them. When I wake up in the morning, I have my breakfast, read the paper, check all of my favorite blogs and message boards, check my email etc. OK, I guess you could call that a routine. But then, I decide what I will do with the rest of the day.

Well, today was clean the house and wash all of the glassware day. So, I vacuumed, dusted, tidied up etc. downstairs then I dug into my collectables. OK, I admit it. I am a collector!! Always have been but hopefully have given up that habit. But, those things that I have collected and still keep need to be cleaned once or twice a year. And today was that day.

As you can see, I love ruby glass. I think I inherited this trait from my mother. Anyway, I have tons of it. I did manage to sell off a few pieces at my garage sale but I still have a ton of it which I hate to give up.

Yup, more ruby glass. Mostly Fenton and Anchor Hocking. But you can see that I also have a collection of crystal bells and Haviland 12 Days of Christmas plates. God only knows why I collected all of these things. But, it gave my family great ideas for my birthday and Christmas presents!

Oh, did I mention that I like ruby glass?? My all time favorite piece is the vase in the middle on the top row. I got it for $7 years ago at an auction. There are two pieces. The bottom part is white onyx and the top is the most gorgeous ruby you will ever find. I have no idea how old it is, who made it or what--but I love it.

This was one of my passions for awhile. They are bells with the state flower on each one. 50 bells!! I got one or two in the mail every few weeks for I don't know how long. Lovely to look at but a pain to clean.

Quite a few years ago, we had an old hotel here in town called the Fort Findlay Motor Inn. They had a great bar where we would hang out at after play rehearsals. My daughter and I also did a couple of dinner theatres at the hotel so, yes, she hung out there too. When they sold the hotel, they had a huge sale and I was able to get one of the two ruby hanging lamps from the bar. It now graces our family room. It doesn't put out a lot of light but I do love it.

This is my favorite Fenton piece. I saved for this guy. I don't think we have ever used it as a lamp but just something to look at. Sad, really. A lamp this beautiful should be used.

OK, what I didn't show you were the cabinets full of Hummels I have also collected. Figurines, bells, plates, Nativity scene, etc etc etc. Geez, what was I thinking??

And, yes, each and every piece of what you have seen and haven't seen needs to be washed every so often. So, today all of the items you have seen pictured here were taken down, tenderly washed, dried, and placed back in their respective spots. Well, ok, I didn't exactly take the chandelier down and wash it but I did give it a good rub down with Windex!

So--that was my day. And what did you do today?

At Last

Another Update: Friday evening. The second day of a garage sale is never as good as the first but making about half of what you make the lst day is about right--and I did. It still looks like I have a ton of stuff but I did get rid of the two bikes and a couple of other big items. A couple of gals were in and said that my prices on my glassware were in line with what people spend at auctions. They seemed to know what they were talking about and could even name a bunch of the antique dealers by name. I am getting a lot of reading done however. I finished one book and started another on. Mr. Snowbird did agree to leaving his car outside the rest of the summer so I didn't have to pack everything up and put it away. I want to have another sale in August. I still have a ton of stuff that I can drag out to the barn--or down from the attic of the barn. Anyway, that's my day today.

Update: Thursday evening. Well, today was the first day of my sale. As I figured, people were lined up before I even opened. When you mention vintage or antique in your ad, you know it will be crazy. And it was! As you could see by the pictures below, I had a bunch of stuff I had to move outside. Even though they could hardly get through the aisles, they were pushing each other to get in first!!
Usually the first wave is made up of the antique dealers. I guess my prices were a bit too high for them since not too many wanted my things. Oh well. I guess one of them liked what he or she saw but didn't want to pay for it. I found, during the day, that an old Evening in Paris Atomizer worth $95 (I had a cheaper price on it believe me) was missing!! This happened to me several years ago when a Fenton plate came up missing. I don't understand people, sometimes, I really don't. Oh well. Anyway, I did sell a lot of stuff today. It doesn't look like it when I look at everything I have left but I'm thrilled. So, I still have two more days of sitting in the barn/garage and it is supposed to be in the mid 90's both days. Ugh!!

Remember this??

And then this??

And finally--this??

Well, now it looks like this.

And this---


And this---


And this---


And finally, this!!
Yeah, I know it looks like a mess again but all the stuff in the aisle goes outside tomorrow so all of my customers can buy and buy and buy.


So what do you want to buy??

And yes, Karen, I'm getting rid of the Pack N Play and the other crib. I figure by the time you visit us at this house, your kids will no longer fit in them. I doubt if they would now. Oh, and did you want the painting of Uncle Al??

At Last!!

I have a clean attic!!! I can actually see the floor--dirty as it is--I can actually see the floor! This is probably the first time in more years than I care to count that the shelves are bare and the floor is practically bare except where things are supposed to be. Amazing. Ok, ok, so there are still a bunch of boxes sitting around. I went through every stinkin' box and threw stuff away. But there were things I just couldn't part with. Whatnots that belonged to my grandmother, hankies that belonged to my mother, baby clothes that I wore and my kids wore, playbills from broadway shows, scripts from some of my favorite shows that I have directed etc etc etc. I also inherited a lot of antique glassware from my aunt and I am going to wait to get it appraised before I plop it on a table at a garage sale. I also have TONS of hockey cards from the early 90's. Any takers? Yeah, I know, it sounds a bit surprising but I collected hockey cards for awhile. I am a Bowling Green State University hockey nut and used to know many of the players personally including some who played in the NHL. Sooo, I collected cards. (See you learn something new about me everyday!) Now, I want to get rid of the cards. As I said, any takers??

So, my attic is clean. My garage is full. My back is killing me. And I now have to find the time to have a massive garage sale. Ugh!!

Before

After



Before

After



Before


After



Before

After
Ok, I admit it, this doesn't look a whole lot better but this is all stuff going to someone else so it will be gone, I promise!!



And this is really all that is left. The boxes on this end are glassware and will be sold eventually. Our luggage is in the middle. And the other end is all that my kids have to decide what to do with. Hee, hee, hee.

I'm done and if I go up in that attic anytime soon, it will be tooooo soon!

Outgrowing!!

OK, so now I've moved a bunch of stuff from the attic to the garage--and boy do the calves of my legs HURT!! I'm beginning to feel my 70 (ouch) years. Anyway, I still have a bunch of my aunt's boxes to go through but I have definitely run out of room in the garage. So, I'm posting some pictures. Any of you want any of this stuff??? LOL I think the thing that breaks my heart the most is the little yellow and orange toy motorcycle you can see. That was my oldest grandson's favorite toy when he would come to visit me. And I think by the time my twin grandsons come to visit, they will need real grown up motorcycles. Again, LOL.

Downsizing!!

For those of you who suffered through my posts when we remodeled our Florida Room on our Sanibel home--well now, you have to suffer through cleaning my attic in my Findlay home!

We live in a 100+ year old home. It has a full basement, a first floor with 4 rooms, a utility room, and a half bath, a second floor with 4 bedrooms and a full bath, and a FULL attic. And I do mean full! We have lived here for about 35 years and after 46 years of marriage, two kids, and 5 grandkids and inherited items from parents, stepparents, aunts, grandparents etc--you tend to collect stuff! So, yesterday I started to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, and started pitching. Well, I didn't exactly pitch--I just moved it to the garage. I have this grandiose vision of having a garage sale this summer and making enough money to go to Ireland next summer. (yeah right!!). So now, my attic is half empty and my carriage house/barn/garage is full. I actually wore my pedometer yesterday to count steps and I had almost 7000 steps. That is 3 miles of up and down steps and walking to the barn. Man am I sore today!! So, now, I need to get back to the attic and start going through boxes and possibly weeding out more. But unfortunately, this is stuff I have saved (mementos and such-can't get rid of those!), books from my childhood (can't get rid of those!), antiques and glasswear from various relatives (can't get rid of those!), baby clothes from Mr. Snowbird, my kids and from me (can't get rid of those!), my wedding dress (can't get rid of that!). Well, you get the idea.

Anyway, I'm off to the attic. More later--if I can crawl my way back to the computer.

Oh by the way, Karen, is this your teddy bear or your brothers?????