A Head on Her Shoulders and my Goodwill Griping.

They say that if you have 3 of “something” – then you are a collector of that “something.”

I bought this head about 10 years ago and she reminded me of Eleanor Roosevelt.

I call her Eleanor.

Then a few years ago I fond this gal.

I don’t have a name for her.

Or him?

Today I found my new favorite clay head.

She has no name yet.

Check out this hair!

This is really quite well done.

Nice peace sign and tie-dye shirt too!

Best of all….

$4.99!

Not bad….

You know what is bad at Goodwill?

I will tell you.

They are sending crap that does not sell in 5 weeks at a particular store to another Goodwill Store.

Packing up unsold junk and wasting fossil fuels to put the worst of the worst unsold items at another store.

********************

Lately I noticed that junk that used to be 99¢ – now is at $1.99 and the prices on other items just seem to increase.

Here is a another new sales tactic.

If it is chipped or broken – don’t send it to the outlet store to be sold by the pound.

Price it.

Put it out on the shelf.

Mark it  – “as-is” so it cannot be returned.

Really stupid sales techniques.

Really.

Stupid.

Here is a poorly executed cat with a broken ear.

$3.99

Execute the pricer.

Oh.

Poor birdy has no beak.

As-is – – $3.99

OMG!

This kitty has TWO busted ears and an overpriced $2.99 as-is sticker right over his bum hole.

I think I need a casserole dish with a broken lid for $2.99 AS-IS.

As-if!

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What I did not buy at Goodwill today.

I do have a penchant for the odd and unusual.

But I do have a budget these days for purely silly things and it is a limited budget.

There is a recession going on, ya know…

I want this.  I am willing to wait the 6 weeks or so until it goes 1/2 price.

This is so grotesquely good.

The teeth on the bottom jaw are fabulous.

I got home and thought about this piece of clay work and realized that I almost have a collection of clay heads.

I have had tis one for ages.
Why someone painted it blue and green – I do not know.

Artistic license.

This one is made of plaster and is not aging quite so well.

I always thought she looked a little like Eleanor Roosevelt.

She looks like she would be a nice person to know.

Packrats R me!

I have been selling off a lot of my stuff lately.

I posted some photos to Flickr tonight and realized that, HEY!  I still have a lot of stuff.

Show and tell time:

I do so like Cathrineholm enamelware.

I often leave the price tags on so I can uh, gloat, about the wee bit I paid for some marvelous mid century goodies.

I am just a bit quirky that way.

I like pretty colored plastic ware from the 70’s too!

Oh, I like ALL kinds of stuff!

More.

Later.

A Swedish Dish – A bad Bunny and more

I found a cool 60’s dish from Sweden last night and put it on ebay today.

It took me about 1/2 hour of googling to find out it was called Jie and that indeed, I was correct about it being vintage.

I KNEW it was a cool looking thing.   Just was not positive it was not a brand new Ikea mid-century knock off.

Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.

Older pottery “feels” a little different than newer.

Nice, eh?

Not so nice.

This was so bad – it gave me the heebie-jeebies.

My kid had soccer practice at a school down the road and there was a mural in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And then Martin got tagged.

Halloween Jack O’ Lantern at a friend’s house.

Can you Feelie my Pain at Goodwill today?

I have decided that I need to get out and shop more often.

So today I headed to the next town over – as there are two thrift  stores there.

First stop.

Goodwill.

I wandered through the furniture  – then purses and shoes – then I methodically start on the last row and work my way row by row to the front.   At least that is my pattern.   Often there is someone blocking the narrow row with a cart or with a passel of kids – so I have to remember to backtrack.   It used to irritate me that people were so oblivious to anyone else trying to maneuver the same row.   Now I have changed my thought patterns and I mentally thank them for the extra exercise I am getting when I have to go back.

Such was the case today.

Did the painting/prints row – then the general tools – pets row – then the basket row – the wooden row – the metal row – the row with vases had a lady talking to each item -passed on that – then row by row up to the books.

Back I went to the vases and plastic flowers row and BING BING BING!  I spotted a lovely ceramic pot – I knew it was “good” pottery from 1/2 an aisle away.   I picked it up and looked at the bottom.

Cabat.   CABAT???  CABAT!!!!

Oh it is a lovely pot indeed!

I put on my reading glasses to look it over and…..

Argghhhh!   The top is busted off.

Recently, by the looks of the clean white clay break.

I looked on the shelf for the busted piece – I looked on the shelf above and below – I looked on the floor – and along the edge of the floor, (where I have to say it was quite grimy looking on the kick plate of the shelving units) and no little piece of pottery to be found.

Dang it all!

The price was $4.99  and I thought that was just too much for a broken vase, so I found a supervisor to ask if they could lower the price for a broken vase.

He was new.

He held the vase and looked at it and thought for a bit and told me that it had only been out on the floor one day….implying that $4.99 was a GOOD price for a broken vase.

I just kept looking at him and eventually he told me he could sell it to me for $2.99 – as-is and I could not return it.

We came to an agreement on that.

Rose Cabat “Feelie” vases are usually quite small…

This one is not.

This is a gorgeous big thickly glazed Feelie vase.

(with a broken top)

Can you Feelie my pain?

Not Everyday is a buying experience at Goodwill

I got this lovely vase today at the antique mall.

The dealer who knows what I like offered this to me at a good price.

I could not resist. 

This is a porcelain vase.

It is signed, “B Welsh ’83” on the bottom.

It has turnip and rutabagas (?) on it.

Quite an interesting subject matter on a vase.

Fun shape.

Here it is signed – Welsh / Fuller

I wonder who Fuller is?

Anyway – this reminded me of another piece of work that I have had for years – that I probably got at Goodwill or a yard sale.

 This is definitely NOT porcelain.

But this is definitely COOL.

Nice, eh?

I like how the artist embraced the hole in the clay by drawing circles around it.

Different signature than usual.

Maybe someone can tell me why.

PS. I did go to Goodwill today. 

Here is PROOF.

I know.

Icky.

Gloomy Bear Photo for today, too…

There ya have it.

 

What I buy at Goodwill

I go to Goodwill about every day.  I buy stuff to sell.  I buy stuff to keep.  I buy stuff to keep for a while – then I sell it.

Here are some things that I have bought at Goodwill – that I still have!

I just made a great macaroni and cheese in this dish and as I was washing it up – I thought that I would share a view of this fabulous pottery casserole dish with you.

I took pottery lessons for years and I have come to appreciate ceramics in many different styles and applications.

What noodle would not be happy to cook in here?

Now here is a neat mid-century ceramic wall hanging.

Not signed on the back – but I am pretty sure it is probably Fantoni -ish.

I think this is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Nice big raku platter with a vintage Janet Buskirk Coyote behind the platter.

Oh!

Lucky me!

Goodwill Rice Cooker completes the Meal.

My friend, Cecelia, has a fancy schmancy rice cooker with neuro fuzzy logic.  I am not even certain what that means –  but I am sure it is a good thing. 

I really wanted one – but did not want to shell out the $180-$250 for one.  SO…. I kept an eye out at Goodwill for about 2 years and then – THERE IT WAS!

The Zojirushi of my dreams , and in mint condition!

I left the price tag on – so I can gloat each time I use this – that I paid only $7.99…

Tonight – I am making Sechuan chicken – and it is a fabulous recipe. 

This is the way that a GOOD recipe should look!

Some people double a recipe – today, I 5 TIMESED it.  I will eat this for lunch all week.

I got out my HUGE wok and cooked the chicken breasts that had been marinating in soy sauce and cornstarch.

I cooked the chicken in batches – cause even for a HUGE wok – that is a big chore.

Dried hot peppers – garlic – green onions and ginger. 

That is a great combination!

All the cooked chicken is set aside and in goes the ginger and friends into a spicy sauce until it boils and thickens.

Back comes the chicken to swim in the sauce!

The jasmine rice is neuro fuzzily cooked to perfection…

What could be better than this?

 

OOOH!   Ask me!  Ask ME!

Eating this out of a great handmade bowl that sells for over $40 by local artist Ginger Steele!

 

 But I paid only $1.99 at Goodwill…

YUM.

A grinning Cat – A grinning me.

The dealer in the antique mall knew that I really like the fabulous cookie jar that I got a couple of months ago by the noted Oregon potter – Bennett Welsh.

Here is a picture of the cookie jar.  

 

Last week the same dealer brought in another piece by Bennett Welsh – and she wised up – as I had to pay about about half of what I paid for the great cookie jar for a piece that is similar – but really just quite nice  in comparison.   She was smart.  She knew I wanted this one too…

This cat looks familiar!

 

That tail looks like it got caught in the car door a few times…

Good Kitty.

 

 

Louie the cat.

I find that people who name their pets “people” names – are a very nice lot, indeed.

Nicely signed on the side.

Well marked on the bottom too.

My lucky day that the dealer knows what I like!

 

What I did NOT buy at Goodwill today.

I did not buy this.

I did not buy this jar with the lady doing a somersault.

I did not have to think twice about NOT buying this, even though I do like handmade ceramics.

I get enough gymnastics in my life about every 4 years.

This uh, handmade doll(?) was at the outlet store and just kinda creeped me out.

I think it was made by a sad child.

Did not buy.

Did not even want to touch it.

Made me feel uncomfortable to see the little heart drawn on it…

Just thought I would show a blurry photo of the “book” people scrambling to get the new books that just got rolled out at the Goodwill Outlet store.

They almost look angelic with the lights shining from above.

Note:

They are a tough group – and the riot control employee was on duty watching over them.

I did not buy any books.

Is this for training young gang members?

Did not buy.

Did not understand.

To klene yur geer.

(did not bye)