I'm a Junkin' Junky...

I figured something out about myself this morning...  I'm a Junkin' Junky.  It's not that I didn't already know this about myself, but now I know that extended periods of time away (Fall, Winter) from junkin' will cause serious withdrawals followed by extreme adrenaline rushes when junk is re-introduced.  My step-dad Jon, step-sister Jessica and her one-year-old daughter, Jill, along with my 4 year old and 8 month old and I drove a little way out of town today for a sale that was advertised as over 30 years of accumulation...  I think it might have been a bit more than that, but that's ok.  Since I haven't been out junkin' in a while, my heart started beating a little faster when I pulled up and saw the piles.  This was going to be a true junkin' sale!  Don't get me wrong- garage sales and thrift stores are great, but I LOVE getting to dig through old boxes and piles that haven't been touched in years.  There was a house and several outbuildings including this main shop that had several nooks and attic crammed with bags, boxes and mouse droppings...        

It was pretty bad and I noticed that there no other women (and certainly no other children) participating in the digging.  I guess if there is one thing that growing up on a dairy farm does for a girl is tolerance for this kind of thing.  At one point, I had dug out a large enamel bowl from under some pile outside only to put my hand right inside a bunch of slime.  Oh well, wipe it off and keep digging...

The biggest challenge of the morning was being able to go through the rafters, attics, piles, sheds, and basements and keep the kids safe.  I think I realized how much of a junky I was when I realized how tortured I felt when I had to bow out of digging through some of the attics due to the dust and health hazards for a baby.  Giving up the attics, I headed outside to the piles and carried my 20 lb baby in her infant carseat while she slept and pulled out a cool old door and some other goodies.  After carrying this door for a while in one arm and the carseat in the other, I teamed up with Jessica and we'd take turns watching the kids. I kept an eye on Jill while she dug through vintage fabric and she kept mine while I explored the property some more.  Since I took way longer, I bought her fabric for her :) 

After it was all said and done, I didn't have a ton of stuff, but I'm so happy with my finds, not to mention I got a great deal on all of it!  I debated on this bike for a while.  It had this great old basket and old rear-view mirror attached to it, but I didn't get it because of the front tire.  My favorite find of the day was one of those old round metal laundry hampers with wheels!  I've always loved those, but never have been able to get one until today! 

After I got back from the sale and was unloading the door (above) from the truck, I realized how monstrously heavy and solid it was and thought, "How on earth did I haul that so far with the carseat?"  I've come to the conclusion that I must have been on some kind of junkin' adrenaline rush (yes, sad I know). 

And now that the day is over and I'm utterly exhausted, I know that I'm a bona fide Junkin' Junky and I'm proud of it!

The Good Old Days

A few weeks ago, my girls discovered a few boxes of mementos that have been in storage for a long time in my mom's attic that contained some old 4-H and FFA fair ribbons, pictures, and my old dairy princess tiara and banners. The girls were thrilled like they'd found some old treasures and couldn't believe that this was their mom's stuff. They wore the tiara all over the place, of course! It is interesting that they found these items when they did as there have been many recent discussions with my 3 year old (Lily) about growing up on a farm. She's really big into farm animals right now and when I tell her that I grew up on a farm, her response is, "No fair, I want to grow up on a farm!" My oldest daughter has also said this same thing for years. I find it funny because when I was that kid on the farm, I didn't know what I had. All I knew was that I had five times as many chores as any other kid and we didn't get many vacations because dairy cows always need milking!

One of the things that I love about hunting for vintage finds is the connection to my childhood and the cool farm junk that used to be all over the farm. My whole family loves going to all the awesome antique shows in the Spokane area because many of them are located on someone's little farm. My daughters spent most of their time at the Vintage Barn Show catching grasshoppers in the tall grass and feeding them to Rolane's chickens!

After sifting through the boxes and going through old pictures, I realize that my childhood was pretty fantastic. I mean, how often does the average girl have a chance to be a dairy princess? The little dairy farm in Chewelah, WA had to be sold shortly after I graduated from high school as my Dad had passed away. On some days, I look at my beautiful growing girls and really wish there had been a way to keep the farm. If there is anything in the world I could give to my kids, it would be to provide them with the farm life I had. Anybody have an affordable little plot of land to raise some animals on? Maybe someday...