Let us put by some hour of every day for holy things...

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
Come drifting home with broken masts and sails.
I will believe the Hand which never fails,
From seeming evil, worketh good for me.
And though I weep because those sails are tattered,
Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered:
I trust in Thee.
--Ann Kimmel

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18

Saturday, May 5, 2012

A Three Dollar Box

And yet another tale in my continuing saga of Adventures in Junking...

About two weeks ago, my husband and I came upon an estate sale. Being hardcore junkers, we could not, of course, drive past.  However, despite the masses of items available for sale and fairly cheap prices, it was--to my mind, at least--a rather dismal affair. There simply was not much of interest.  I rummaged valiantly but only managed to come up with a cabin-shaped maple syrup tin and some oversized safety pins, which my sister-in-law later informed me are old horse blanket pins. On the whole, I deemed the sale a dud. I didn't envy the sellers for the trips to the dump they'd no doubt have to make after the sale ended.

My husband, however, picked up a nondescript old jewelry box filled with odds and ends of trashy bits and a couple of old watches. He wound one of the watches and found it worked, so decided to get the box. I'd already glanced through the box and dismissed it as garbage can fodder, but he wanted it. Junking is, after all, the ultimate cheap thrill. There are worse ways to waste three bucks. To each his own.


You know where this is going, don't you?

Arriving home, he immediately got out his magnifying glass and started sorting through the box's dubious contents. His main focus was still the watch, but he was curious to see if there was anything else worth saving.

He soon found some items he brought to me as possibly of interest: a couple of service pins:


They were dusty and grimey so I dusted them  off with an old toothbrush. Inspecting the markings on the back of each pin, my husband said, "These are gold.  And I think that's a ruby. We better put these on eBay." Which, a few days later, I did.

The bidding started getting fierce--
The tiny pins were hot!
If not for the courage of the fearless scrounge
The treasure would be naught!
The treasure would be naught!

It turns out the Avon pin is 10K and has actual seed pearls adorning it. The AiResearch pin is 14K and yes, that is a ruby. Okay, I'll stop!  Suffice it to say hubby's $3.00 investment netted over $100.00, and we still have a few more goodies from its contents to list and (hopefully) sell. Amazing. How easily that box might have ended up in the landfill. It's the kind of thing that gives avid scavengers the shivers to contemplate.

The Scrounge himself just walked into the room and looked over my shoulder to see what I was writing. He told me to mention he's interested in old ham radio stuff if you happen to have any...!

Okay, change of subject.

Monday is the big day.  Peppy goes in for surgery on his back legs. His deplorable knee condition was something that was pointed out to us when he was a puppy, but I was hopeful I could keep it from deteriorating with glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. Unfortunately in Peppy's case, that hasn't been enough. I despaired of coming up with the money for the surgical repair job he needs and, to tell the truth, with the ethics of spending so much money on one little dog when there are so many children in the world who need help. Providentially, I was blessed to find a vet who will perform the surgery for a price I can afford, and I've spent the last year raising funds via my (Peppy's) Etsy shop, My Pal Peppy. So here we go...  The recovery phase will take six weeks, and will require constant vigilance to see that Pep does no running, climbing stairs, or (I wish!) jumping. He hasn't jumped in years (no strength in the legs) so I think we're safe on that score, but he'll have to be confined while he heals, and he'll only be allowed outside when on a leash.  Your prayers and good wishes are much appreciated!

I'll keep you posted on his progress.

 

1 comment :

  1. I love junking :)

    One of my favorite things is buying a bag or jar of junk and then sorting it.

    Peppy is so cute
    good luck on his surgery!

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