The Birds

I love garage sales. I am just a total thrifter at heart. I even remember my first garage sale. It was down the street from my Aunt Carol's house in Post Texas. I bought a blue crackled vase for a quarter and it sat on my grandmother's dresser until we did not see her anymore. She always smelled like Jungle Gardenia. If I happen to catch that scent anywhere, my mind goes back to that room.

So, I went to a garage sale here in town a few weekends ago. I found these adorable little wooden birds. They were marked a quarter a piece and I wanted them! There was 4 in all. I gathered them up and went up to the lady to pay.

Her: Oh you found the cute little birds!

Me: Yep...they are adorable!

Her: Do you know how they are used?

Me: Not really but my idea is to drill holes through them and to string them on a ribbon and...

Her: ~eyes go wide and she picks the birds up off of the table~

Me: ...and then I am going to re-paint them....maybe a bring blue and a green and then hang them from the ceiling. I wish that there were more.

Her: NO, that is not what they are used for. You need to go to Wal Mart and buy a tiny dowel rod. You see the tiny little hole here at the bottom, you need to put the dowel rod there and then stick the bird gently into a potted plant. They are plant stakes. And the birds are dark red and dark green. That is what color they are.

Me: Oh I bet that is cute but I really want to drill the holes and....

Her: ~now clutching the birds to her chest~ that is not what they are used for.

Me: *blink blink*

Her: You MUST get a dowel rod and put the little birds into a potted plant. That is what you are supposed to do with these little birds. Bright blue and green birds are just silly.

Me: ~beginning to realize that she is not going to sell me those damned birds!~

Me: OOOOoooohhhhhhhhh....I see!! Little bird plant stakes.

Her: *smile begins to come back to her face* YES! Little bird plant stakes.

Me: Oh that will be so sweet!

Her: ~proudly handing the birds over to me~ That will be one dollar!

The birds post garage sale:


I took the birds to Clarendon and my daddy used them to make a pattern and cut me out some new birds. They he too a drill and a tiny little drill bit and.....YOU BET....you drilled little holes all the way through MY little wooden birds.

Birds molting ~snickers~ I decided to paint them brighter colors so that they could HANG in my kitchen. I left the older colors on because I wanted to distress them and that color could come through.

Birds of a feather.......
Close up of distressed bird. *snickers* When I say distressed...I hear a tiny little bird yelling *Help me Help me*
Kitchen shot. They are very happy hanging out in my craft/kitchen.

I have a very naughty desire to take one of the birds and hang it in a tree in the garage sale lady's yard.
I wonder how much we miss of life because we refuse to see other ways of doing things. Believing instead that there is only one right way.


Comments

  1. What a great idea! Those birds look distressingly happy flying in your kitchen.

    That story is a hoot. You realize it was very brave of that woman to sell those birds, as attached to them as she still was. Leave her comforted thinking they've gone to a good home. *hee hee*

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  2. Too funny! But I think the garage sale lady would be to upset to see them this way. Better keep that a secret. LOL.

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  3. I was smart enough not to give her a check. I don't think she followed me so I am fairly sure that I am safe....for the time being.

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  4. oh, I'm guilty of that. I once tried to sell my conga drum at a garage sale. Some lady wanted to buy it, paint it, put a piece of glass over the top and make an end table out of it! I'm not joking! And she wanted me to cut the price in half. I said, no, this is a fine musical instrument, not a piece of junk to be decorated up and made into something else. I will sell it for full price to someone who will appreciate that about it.
    But YOU have made these birds look GREAT! Pot stickers? PFFFF! no way. They look much better after you had your way with them.
    :o)

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  5. Did you make extras, or are my eyes deceiving me?

    Cute!!

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  6. Silly Wow...why would you sell something at a garage sale that meant that much to you?

    Yep CH...I made extras!

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  7. Anonymous1:23 PM

    I wonder how much we miss of life because we refuse to see other ways of doing things. Believing instead that there is only one right way.

    ouch... God spoke to me through you in that Mindy. Thank you... I think :)

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  8. I am sorry Lorna *grins* and you are welcome!!

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  9. CUTE!!! You are so creative.
    And yes, there is a big lesson here about flexibility and thinking outside the box....

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  10. I adore it :) The new colours are way better (and less gloomy)! If it was up to me, I would print a colour copy of that picture, add the words "Help me! Help me!" and leave it in that lady's mailbox :P But you're nice...so that's not likely to happen :)

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  11. I love it that you're able to imagine other possibilities for things.

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  12. Anonymous4:12 PM

    LMAO, you are hilarious. Agree with PG, you did her a great kindness. And they ARE in a good home!

    Pot stickers, tee hee!

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  13. Lol, I love the birds. And I see that my word is hanging in the background. When are you ever going to get mine finished???

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  14. I was going to suggest you go all "Godfather" on her ... cut the head off a bird and leave it in her mailbox.

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  15. Nice birds Mindy!!! Lovely.

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  16. GIGGLING HYSTERICALLY....
    This is just too much fun. If we ever do a meet-up we MUST go garage saling together!!!

    :)
    d

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  17. Oh, you are too funny! I bet that lady still has nightmares of what you might be doing to her birds!

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  18. excellent- they have been set free!!!

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