Multi-Media Junkin'

hey y'all,

no need to write anything, but i can't resist! yes, there are 5 (count 'em!) videos in this blog. but a quick glance will show you they are relatively short (for me).

despite the gawd-awful texas heat, i went junkin' saturday, in search of sales sporting some a/c. i was sans FAGs who were off in an RV somewhere with family and friends. okay, they were in burnet, durn it. on beautiful (but low) lake buchanan.

i missed them, but as you'll soon see, i had y'all along with me! :)

be sure to check out my new-found treasures in the pictures below the videos.

love and hugs,
terry lee












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i know, right?! she's BEAUTIFUL!!!! first thing i spotted at mrs. cooper's booth at the church sale. she said it's handmade and probably from the 40s-50s. it was love at first sight. sigh. got her for a song, too.

a closer look at the top portion

lovely tulle at the bottom, with satin underneath.

close up of the sweet vintage lace

also got this v. smart, vintage hat from mrs. cooper (along with some killer vintage tatted lace in pic below). isn't she lovely?

found this sweet lil cup at the goodwill bargain barn, along with a couple of saucers. see the handmade tatted lace? gorgeous stuff.

and here's a new baby for my ever-growing clock collection! the vendor (at the church sale) was fixin' to pack up and had marked it down to $2. SOLD! to the lady with the pink iphone!

beautiful old electric teapot/water warmer. it came in its original box too. i love the lid with the sweet lil bird. the lady said it whistles when the water's warm. oddly enough, i bought one just. like. this. a couple of weeks ago in waco. now they can be friends. oh, and it was $3.

Life Should Be Sew Easy

hey y'all,

wow! i'm not even sure where to begin. at first, i wasn't posting because i was too busy. then i was too tired. then i had writer's block. now, it's simply because i have too many thoughts swirling around in this fuzzy, cob-webbed brain of mine ... and i'm not sure which one to grab and write about.

instead of choosing, i think i'll just jump in with some fragmented ramblings of which i'd like to share with y'all.

yes, i was gone for a few days to an undisclosed location. sound mysterious? well, that's a writer's technique to keep you reading. heh heh. but it was a lovely trip, great location with a wonderful historic district ... and i had a very relaxing visit there.









having said that, the flights to and from said undisclosed location, were a nightmare. lots and lots of delays, missed connecting flights (airline's fault), running through airports (shades of vintage OJ simpson commercials), falling as i stepped off the people mover thingy in my futile attempt to make a connecting flight on the far side a huge, major airport ... airline clerks with stinky attitudes not giving a damn, lots of crying (on my part), lots of emotional hysteria (on my part), then finally putting on my big girl panties and dealing with it.



found a DELTA (yes, DELTA AIRLINES ... DELTA-effing-AIRLINES) supervisor (they wear red jackets and if you EVER have any issues with your flights, go directly to a supervisor. repeat: bypass the stupid gate clerks who are good-for-nothing eejits and find yourself a red jacket person. that is, if you're dealing with DELTA) who finally got me the medical assistance and flight help that i needed. oh, and a $10 meal voucher for my "inconvenience". believe me. a $100 meal voucher wouldn't have done the trick.



in defense of DELTA, let me assure you that they aren't the only effed-up airline. i firmly believe they are ALL in collusion to make your traveling experience as miserable as possible. why? because they already have your money for a flight they have over-sold. you are inside security with a boarding pass to HELL ... and are completely at their mercy. of which they have NONE. mercy, that is.



if i EVER fly again, there will be NO connecting flights, NO running through airports. if there isn't a direct flight to my destination, i'll just stay home. no one should be treated the way i was by DELTA (or, insert any other airline name here). i don't know what the answer is to the airline industry's problems, but right now, it is a frickin' mess and SOMEBODY needs to do SOMETHING about it. congress?! the president?! regulation? de-regulation? re-regulation?!?!?!?! arghhh!!!

and yes. DELTA will be hearing from me about my flying fiasco. it won't change anything. but i'll feel better having chewed a bit of their ears off.

okay, enough of that nonsense. just wanted to share a bit of my experience with the airlines just in case it might help some unfortunate soul who plans to fly soon. a word to the wise: take a train, bus or automobile. you'll thank me later.

in happier news, the FAGs ... yes, all three of us ... got together for the first time in ages for a true junkin' adventure!



despite the texas heat and the paucity of "inside" sales, we braved the blazing sun and hit lots of yard sales and outside church sales.

buy more and save! tempting. so very tempting. heh heh. actually this place was rather creepy but we braved it anyhow.







for those who might remember, i've been in search of a starter sewing machine for myself. i'd like to learn how to sew basic stitches ... nothing fancy. just a stitch or two. well, i found my baby at one of the church sales. the seller had it marked at $20 but sold it to me for $15. she said her hubby bought it new for her but she only used it 2-3 times and lost interest. it looks like the perfect lil starter machine for me ... it's called "sew easy". how clever.

shaded church sale

my new baby, at home

what cinched the deal was her money-back guarantee. she gave me her name and phone number, as well as reminding me that she was a member of the church where the sale was located. told me if i didn't like it for any reason, to call and she'd return my money.

i'd like to believe the sincerity of her offer. but as i was loading up the machine in my camry, i couldn't help but think: 1. she gave me the wrong number, 2. she's not a member of that church, 3. she's moving away soon, 4. she won't return my money even if i do ask for it.

cynical, much?

well, if it turns out to be a piece of crap, it was only $15. and though that's a LOT of money in the junkin' world, it's not the END of the world.



can't wait to get it set up and see if it works. first things first though. i know NO-THING about sewing machines. even "sew easy" ones. i laughed at myself after i got it home because it almost looks like a child's sewing machine. toy-ish. and when i googled it, sure enough there ARE toy sewing machines called sew-easy.

but mine is not a toy. it's simple, yes. basic, easy. but that's what i need. have been watching youtube videos on how to thread the damn thing. whaaa??! bobbins on the bottom?! levers here. levers there. thread on the top. threading the bobbin!!! "sew easy" indeed. we'll see.

at this "inside" sale, bday girl jannetta found these adorable red shoes:

she wore them the rest of the day!

one last thought/comment for today and then i'm gonna shut up. most of you readers are women, but if you're of the man variety, you might want to skip this part and go look at the pictures. just sayin' ...

had my annual mammogram last week at SCOTT and WHITE HOSPITAL IN TEMPLE, TX. yes, i like to capitalize the name of the guilty party so that you won't miss it.

it is my belief that if you're going to make a career of performing mammograms on women, you should be a kind, tender, gentle, compassionate person. such as the woman depicted below:



sadly, i was not fortunate enough to have that sort of technician. in fact, she was just about the complete opposite of that description.

believe me, if i could remember her name, i'd share it with you. however, if i did get her name, it escapes me now. first, she was fairly pissed that my last mammogram had been done at metroplex (another local hospital) and that they didn't have the films already there (for comparison).

"well, i'm going to have to fill out this paperwork and have them fax the report," she complained. "you need to sign here." at which point she shoved the pen and paper in my face for my signature.

she fussed around for several minutes at her computer, intermittently asking me questions about my breast health history form i had completed for her. now listen, i don't go around looking for sympathy. in fact, i prefer to stay on the road of denial when it comes to my breast cancer and prognosis. but i will admit to feeling a tad vulnerable in that little exam room with the big ol' mammogram machine staring at me.

it's like that every year since my diagnosis three years ago. i dread the mammogram. i get the mammogram like a good girl. i wait with high anxiety for the results of the mammogram. i get a good report from the mammogram. i'm relieved that i may have another year to live. and so it goes ...

so when the tech blurted out her questions so business-like and perfunctory, without any attempt at tenderness or compassion to my responses, i was surprised at how uneasy and anxious i began to feel.

"you had surgery on your left breast? well, which IS it?? lumpectomy or mastectomy?!"

"well, somewhere in between the two," i try to explain.

she sighs.

"do you have your original nipple or not?!"

yikes. she's obviously rather irritated with me, but on she goes:

"you had chemo?" check.

"you had radiation??" check.

she might as well have been taking my order at burger king:

"bacon cheeseburger?" check.

"well, which is it?! bacon or cheese?!?"

"curly fries?" check.

"chocolate milkshake?" check.

okay, fine. i can live without this woman's compassion. i have a loving family and friends; a great support system.

she proceeded with the mammogram. because my surgeon performed something between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy, i still have breast tissue that needs to be checked. when she got to my left side (the affected breast) she became quite frustrated with the logistics.

finally, after lots of uncomfortable manuevering, she burst out with, "WHY didn't they just remove the whole breast?! that way you wouldn't NEED a mammogram on this side."

ouch. i was stunned and stung by her insensitive comment. i managed to reply with, "i guess my surgeon was trying to save as much breast tissue as possible."

as a health-care professional, i know how easy it is to get tired and burned out with your work. it's draining, emotionally and physically. but as a patient advocate, i believe all patients have a right to competent and compassionate health care. there is no excuse for that kind of behavior toward any patient, much less one who has experienced the trauma of a cancer diagnosis and mastectomy. inexcusable. reprehensible. untenable.

yes. i will be calling or writing a letter to SCOTT AND WHITE, too. it's a tough job, trying to save the world. but somebody's gotta do it. one airline, one hospital at a time. i'm only one woman ... but i am strong. i am invincible!

but first, i think i shall take a nap. heh heh

love and hugs,
terry lee

official FAG ring photo. good times, good times.

entirely off subject, i had to show y'all my recent treasure finds at a new store called kirkland's. it's been open for a couple of months but i just discovered it this weekend. got this precious crystal heart for $5. it's huge and heavy and oh-so-perfect!!

this lil cutie is a windchime. look closely and you'll see one of my favorite quotes: "well behaved women rarely make history" ... $2.99!

Equal Opportunity Junkers

hey y'all,

it was a wild junkin' ride yesterday! we were short one of the girls (jannetta ... we missed you!), but as they say, the show must go on ... so bon and i stepped up to the plate. it's hard work, but somebody's gotta do it.

not being a weather prognosticator, i believed the local forecasters when they predicted it would rain on our yard sale parade. so when organizing the sale list (a responsibility i take v. seriously), i paid particular attention to any estate sales or other inside sales listings.

as it happens, the rain gods were kind to us yesterday. which was a good thing because our first stop was a church sale ... on the outside. they did have several lovely tents set up but a lot of their wares were on the outside as well.



it didn't take us long to size up the situation (being the junkin' pros that we are) and realize that this was going to be the best sale of the day. we hit junking. paydirt.





lots and lots and lots of junk here, folks. as i said to one of the sales ladies, you methodists sure know how to collect and sell junk! they were super organized, efficient and v. well staffed. is that a methodist thing? i don't know. but it was rare to find something that hadn't been priced ... and extremely easy to look up and find a worker willing to price it for you.



a sweet lady named kenda noticed my arms were full and proffered a box to me. see? this is a church jumble/rummage sale working at its finest. eventually i graduated to a much larger box and it became difficult to drag around with me.



but drag it i did. because other shoppers ... well, y'all know how they can be. i caught some digging through my box. even though i was straddling it between my legs. sigh. people.

check out time: my HUGE box filled to overflowing with crap = $12.75

bonnie had fashioned one of the larger rubbermaid-type bins for her haul, not intending to take it or buy it. just use it for hauling. some sweet methodist woman came running over to her at the checkout: "that's our bin! you can't take it!!"

well, so much for the methodists. some people just have no social skills what. so. ever. is it really, honestly, worth it to offend a possible non-believer ... thereby causing them to think poorly of "christians"?? i'm just sayin'.

of course.

anyhow, it was agreed that we shot our wad (sorry, faint of heart) at the v. first sale of the day. my camry's trunk was packed, the backseat too. yikes! we still had hours of junking ahead of us!

after a pit stop at chick fil-a, we headed east to the belton/temple area. there was an indoor sale at a strange little white building (the listing said something about a church being nearby ... blah blah blah) just past the junction of I35 and 190, for you central texas folks. i say this only because it was in an impossible location.

now, stay with me here. i'm going somewhere with this story.

i ended up taking the first belton exit and then driving the wrong way on a one-way street just to work my way back to the church. there were throngs of people in the parking lot, so i figured that was the sale.

not. so. my first clue: a black hearse under the portico. second clue: church people dressed for a funeral. third clue: no junk in sight. fourth and final clue: bonnie laughing her arse off.

upon re-reading the sale listing, it's the white building on the hill BEFORE you get to the church. and we're still on the one way street. did i dare? no, i didn't. i risked our lives to get us to a funeral, i figured i shouldn't press my luck.

so we looped around and finally got ourselves to the sale. we figured, as it usually happens this way, that with all that effort, the sale would be a bust. but it turned out okay.

bon found this terrific leather jacket (purple!!) for a steal. and i picked up a $3 unopened box of star wars legos for matt. woot!



i'm sorry. it's become an obsession with me now. they. are. EVERYwhere i go!!



moving on, an estate sale in temple. complete bust. furthermore, a total irritating and aggravating experience. everyone ... and i mean EVERYone in temple was at this sale. the narrow street was packed. parking was near impossible. just getting through the street was a challenge because of all the cars. ack!





and the damn sale wasn't worth a hoot. people everywhere. and i mean annoying people. you couldn't browse at leisure because folks were elbowing and bumping into you. really, really made me cranky.



normally, i enjoy little children. honestly, i do. but this busy little angel took it upon herself to latch on to me (why?!?!?!) ... and followed me from room to room to room. asking. question. after. question.


haylee. she spelled it for me.

"what is this??"

"what is that??"

"what do you do with that?"

"why is this ..."

dear. lord. in. heaven. i. must. get. out. of. this. house. NOW.

next stop was a place called bartek's station, out on hwy 53. whatever. never heard of it. plugged it into my GPS and when we arrived, there was nothing there. wilderness. texas fields of nothing. whaaa?! so we drove back toward town. nothing.

back out to the wilderness. i think we performed this fruitless exercise about 3 times before we decided to give up ... or ask someone for directions. and that someone just happened to be none other than a man named larry, who was sporting a brand new zztop t-shirt.

he was hanging out with some other dudes in the parking lot of a church-type community center. i think it was a family reunion, as they all seemed to have that, well, familial look about them.

actually, an elderly lady approached our car and when she couldn't help us (she was busy chewing on some cauliflower ... that flew out of her mouth through her missing front teeth as she spoke), she summoned ol' larry to the rescue.

yes. larry knew exactly where bartek's station was.



"why are you two looking for bartek's?!" he was incredulous!

"they're having a yard sale," bonnie replied.

"did you know that place is a bar?"

well, hell.

no. we did not know it was a bar. we just figured it was a gas station.

he pointed us in the general direction (back toward the city limits sign) and walked away with a silly grin on his face. i'm not sure how i felt about larry. but i did ask him if he knew that zz top had just appeared at the bell county expo center. he said yeah, that's where he got the t-shirt. i told him a friend of mine was at that concert (that's YOU, dana!).

sooooo, we found bartek's station. and yes, it was an old, worn-out looking bar/club place. my oh my. how far we've come. starting the day at a sweet church jumble and ending up at a run-down saloon. but hey, we are equal opportunity junkers. not that we don't discriminate. but it's the junk we're judging, not the location/people. case in point: we did a drive-by of a sale not on our list. the junk was not suitable. we did not stop.

we did stop at bartek's and rummaged around, while enjoying santana's oye como va blasting from the open door. eventually a man (and later a woman) ambled out and greeted us. it's all negotiable, they say.





and just when we thought we were done (it was 1:30, late by junking standards) we realized that another church sale was nearby and was open till 2pm. we slid into the parking lot and being the heathen that i am ... nevermind being exhausted from the long day of junking and the heat, i could NOT resist the closest open parking space.





we hopped out of the car (with only 1/2 hour to shop!) and were greeted with this sign!







that's the good thing about hitting a sale late in the day. sure, it's picked over. but what's left is usually marked down. i can't (or won't) list all the crap i got here ... but look at the pictures carefully and you'll get an eyeful. :-)

i call this my bar clock, since i got it at bartek's station. all of a dollar. just loved the look of it ... and without realizing it, i've begun a clock collection lately.



score!!! a HUGE baggie filled with old spools of thread!!!!! marked $1. 1/2 price = $0.50!!!



found this beauty at the last stop (church sale). i remember my mom and grandmom wearing these "housecoats" around the house. love the style, colors. so sweet and feminine, retro/vintage

love its tag! lazy u.

$5 for this entire sweet set. LOVE the colors and pattern. it's a comforter, shams, bedskirt, solid blue curtains

it's a lady's vintage travel bag ... with a tie to keep it closed.

inside, it is FULL of vintage goodies ... scarves, gloves, lace, etc!!! $0.50!!

wow. what a looooong day we had. finished up with a treat from chick fil-a ... ice cream ... and then headed home, exhausted and a little overwhelmed with our purchases. it was one of those frenzied days of junking. the prices were sooooo low and the junk so plentiful that you scarf up more than you normally would. and therefore, forget what you bought until you start sorting through it at home.

that's how i junk, ya'll ... oye como va ... listen how it goes ... my junkin' rhythm.

love and hugs,
terry lee