Garage Sale Finds: Planet of the Apes

A historical museum is the last place you would expect to find a second hand treasure. The McHenry County Museum had a table set up covered with donated books for sale - hardcovers 50 cents, paperbacks 25 cents. I must admit I am not much of a reader - the books were mostly novels and I just didn't find anything that interested me. But, there in the center of all the romance and mystery was "Planet of the Apes". Now, it happens that the movie of the same name is one of Charles' favorites. And, yes, he belongs to the NRA and is a Charlton Heston fan. I just know he is going to love adding this book to his personal library. Book purchase was on the honor system - you put the money in a box provided. Luckily Charles didn't even notice the table - he was off with the kids in another section of the museum. So taking the book out to the car and hiding it was easy enough. I will wrap it up as a present - just a fun little surprise Christmas morning!

Garage Sale Finds: Pudd'nhead Wilson

With all the rain we are having here in the midwest, there were NO garage sales this past weekend. At least not in our town or the next town over. We hit quite a few sales the previous weekend but purchased only a few things - some really fantastic things. One wonderful vintage find I will have to save and share with you in a few weeks - it will my PhotoHunt entry - worth the wait I promise.

Two of my other finds should go on Ebay - I know I could make a good profit on them. But alas, they are keepers - for now anyway.



Beth isn't old enough for an American Doll yet. But I'm sure Santa will bring her one when she is ready. I really flipped when I found Samantha! In all the years I have been going to sales, I have never come across an Amnerican Girl Doll. She was only $12 - I would have been willing to pay more. Now, I have a model when I want to make doll clothes. I can even make matching outfits for my doll and Beth's future doll. And won't it be great fun to have tea parties & go on picnics. Golly, you'd think I never grew up. Hmmmm, guess I haven't - don't they call that the Peter Pan syndrom?




My second keeper is a vintage volume of Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson. It is copyrighted 1922. It's in excellent condition & complete with two illustrated plates. I am sure I could get a good price for it on Ebay but no - into my book collection it goes. Here is the funny thing. It was in a box with a few newer books surrounded by a sea of baby clothes and baby equipment. I learned a long time ago not to pass up kiddie garage sales. It is surprising what a little digging will uncover and the seller might not have any clue to an old item's worth. I paid $2 for the book - a real steal if you ask me. And yes, I read the book last week & really enjoyed the story. Think it's time to reread Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.



For Beth's Christmas I got this new set of flannel Disney Princess sheets - $10.00. Maybe I should have tried to get a better price. For the most part I am not good at haggling . If I find something priced much higher than I feel it's worth I usually just pass it up. About the only time I request a discount is when I am buying a bunch of items from one sale. Just me. I know a lot of people automatically ask to pay less no matter how fair the price.





And last - I plan to keep this miniature trinket box - $1.00. It's only about an inch high. I don't know why I am attracted to the weird & unusual - maybe because I am weird and unusual myself (or just daffy). I am going to keep it on my dresser with this other trinket box I received as a gift. Oh No! Here we go again - another collection - won't I ever learn!

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Books & Baubles

Our local library held it's semi-annual "Books and Baubles" sale last week. I must admit I am a cheat. Instead of showing up the first day and paying full price for story books and white elephant items, I only went on the last day. Then it was all the books you could fit into a bag for one price. Baubles were half price.This year they charged $5.00 for the bag. I was a bit surprised as last year it was only $3.00. But, after all, it's to benefit our library and I was more than happy to make my contribution.

My thoughts before hitting the sale were to find some books in nice condition that would make good Christmas/birthday gifts for the grandchildren. I also thought it would be nice to to find a few books to offer on Paperbookswap (I will post about this website later). Up to this point there haven't been any books I have really wanted to put on the wish list at the swap. But, I thought it would be nice to have some credit accumulated in case I did down the road.

I didn't buy any Baubles. I did purchase one bag of books.

So, what did I put in the bag?



Yes, I did find some very nice books to give as gifts. Love the Shark book and Thomas story that have clocks. The kids are still a bit young for the concept of 60 minutes in an hour, but they know we regulate the day by time. I think the best find of the day was the Disney Golden Book compilation published in 1978. It contains three Uncle Remus stories including De Tar Baby - ah, gotta love those politically incorrect tales!



Found 5 nice board books for the baby.



Picked up these three books to list on Paperbackswap. The swap isn't limited to paperbacks. These hardcover editions are in like new condition.



Unexpected finds included these preschool workbooks from My Discovery Book. A Children's Bible Treasury contains 12 small volumes of Bible stories. Di appreciates anything educational I send her way - the kids will just think its fun.



Here are some stories to include in my Grandma Library. I was especially happy to get Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White. Now, I think the only fairy tale I am missing is Goldielocks and the Three Bears. Also it was fun to find my first book from The Stupids series.



Finally, here is a Mr. T book - the only Mr. T book in the sale. I am not too sure what to do with it. I doubt anyone would want to buy it off Ebay as it was part of a series. For now I will put it in my own private vintage children's books collection. Oh yes, yet another one of my many collections. But, I have some of the most wonderful old books. When the kids are old enough I will share and expose them to a world they can only find at Grandma's house.

What a fantastic sale. I got far more books than my $5.00 worth!

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!