Occupational Hazards

Salvage Chick was out on site at a Clean-Out with Sanford & Son today and especially jumpy because Son mentioned he had seen a RAT, granted a Muskrat, but still of the Rodent Persuasion. The preferred method of Cleaning Out is to offer a price for the contents sight unseen and then haul them away, with a promise to return any personal items such as photographs or letters of sentimental value... always a Gamble but usually a Pay Off in the end. This particular Cellar Owner did not want to go that route but she was a Really Nice Lady and Hey You Never Know What's In There so the morning was spent assisting her foraging through boxes for items she might want to keep. Imagine Salvage Chick's reaction when she reached into a box and pulled out a nice pair of... OLD DENTURES!! Ewwwwwwwwww...

The highlight of the day was finding an old coil of rope that did look exceptionally Rat-Tailish and casually tossing it Son's way with the comment "Here's that Rat you were talking about".

Hell Hath No Fury...

Like Delivery Guy SCORNED!! His Furniture Buyer Lady Friend has cooled her jets despite the initial Hot Pursuit, because her EX is back on the scene. Maybe just as well... Delivery Guy said he could not concentrate while hanging out at her home because he was around furniture he recognized from SALVAGE CHIC and he kept expecting Salvage Chick to jump out and poke him! I could see how that could ruin The Moment.

How Do You Like THEM Apples?

Four hooks that would be perfect for one of those hall benches with the big tall mirror, you know like the hookless one the Salvage Chick got snookered out of last weekend? Too bad she did not have these at the time of the transaction... or DID SHE??

Tune in this weekend to see what gem I might be able to extract from Mr. Never Open in exchange for these!!

First Photos of The Sleepy Beggar Tavern

This place is so cozy at night but I couldn't wait to post pictures so here's a Sneak Peek. I'm on the hunt for a medium-size wire spool to use as the 2nd table in between the benches so if you have one and want to trade the Salvage Chick for something, give me a call!

I bought those buoys from Amy of Nooks & Crannies consignment even though she locked me in her mother's garage to try to get me to buy more stuff at her Yard Sale. Check out her stuff For Sale at the Hexagon House in Pembroke and My Favorite Place in Hanover - Great Stuff at the Best Prices Around!

A Birdcage In the Hand...

Lex Luthor is at it again, bent on destroying Salvage Chick's Superpowers in garnering cool stuff for the store!! Last week I stumbled upon a birdhouse at one of those Undisclosed Locations and knew I had a winner because when I dug it out of its hiding place vultures started circling waiting for me to put it down for one precious unattended minute. I immediately thought of my Yard Sale Buddy who loves stuff like that so I bought it and brought it over to his house and gave it to him. No ulterior motives - just thought that he would really like it, after all what is six bucks among friends.

The next weekend Yard Sale Buddy mentions to Lex Luthor "Look At This Birdhouse Salvage Chick Gave Me" and wouldn't you know it the very next day, what do I spot in Lex's truck bed but a BIRDHOUSE and sure enough, when I go to visit Yard Sale Buddy he says "Look At This Birdhouse Lex Luthor Gave Me!!" UnBELIEVEable. Of course my birdhouse has pride of place smack dab in the middle of Yard Sale Buddy's front yard and Lex's birdhouse is tucked away hidden in the Tent because it needs work... kind of like handing someone half a sweater for Christmas and saying "Here, You Finish It", dontcha think?

I Love a Parade!

One of the few perks of living on the Main Drag in a small town is that the Holiday Parades pass right by your door. I was out back working on a project when I heard the guy next door telling his usually quiet dog to RELAX and then my own not-usually-quiet hound let out her distinctive ROOOOOO so I picked my head up and realized, the Memorial Day Parade was happening! I ran inside and alerted my husband then jetted out the front door to watch the festivities. Barely had I landed on the stoop and 2 guys in the parade were waving and yelling "The Roof Looks GREAT!!" I was so proud -it's finally done!!

Today was a great day as my husband and I almost never have the same day off and have been looking forward to the day together. Of course we each migrated to our own pet projects but it was nice to have the other nearby. Kenny finished pumping the water off the pool cover and opened it up while I worked on my latest obsession... I REALLY wish I had my camera handy to share a few photos with you but that will have to wait. I've turned the Carriage House you walk through to get to my back door into a charming little tavern. The church pews I got snookered into buying are nestled right under the window Kenny recently installed with a table in between. We hung out there last night and had dinner and a few beers - had a bit of a headache this morning but it's not like we had to drive home! We've christened it The Sleepy Beggar Tavern in honor of a certain dog who could barely keep her eyes open while she waited for a scrap of cheeseburger.

In addition to refreshments, visitors to the Sleepy Beggar can also enjoy WiFi Internet and Cable TV! I love having my in-house IT guy. He was joking that the perk of being married to Salvage Chick is she gets dumped 2 benches and then creates an Insta-Tavern without leaving the house to buy anything.

Look for pictures in the next day or two and then invite yourself to come hang out!

Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth...

I took a royal flogging on this one. The bench was supposed to be free if I stored another one for the Shyster at N.O. Antiques and it was a total setup because once they got to my house I decided I wanted to keep both since they looked so good. I have no recollection of the negotiations due to the severe beating I took but when I came to, it turned out that the Shyster now owns that Oak Hall Bench with the Beveled Mirrors, and I owe $100 to the guy I was selling it for. Unbelievable.

ALWAYS look a Gift Bench in the mouth!

Come to think of it, I think everyone made out in this deal... but I won't let on so the Shyster can relish his little victory until I get him back next week.

Love is In the Air...

Cupid strikes at Salvage Chic... Last week Delivery Guy brought some stuff to Furniture Buyer's home and I guess sparks flew in Pembroke. There have been a few telephone conversations and tonight they are going to see a Movie together! I hope it is a PG movie...

Off to start working on my new line of T-Shirts "I Found Love at Salvage Chic!"

Here she comes... Miss Armoire-ica...

Mack was green with envy when he saw how nice this thing turned out; I'm sure he was thinking "This would really class up my shop" but tough luck it was already sitting in MINE and Boy Does It Look Good. He was exclaiming that I am giving out too much information on my Blog "YouCan'tBeLettingPeopleKnowYouDoThingsLikeTrashpick" well gee I'm only called The Salvage Chick so I don't think it's going to be a big shock to anyone that I might break for a good Curbside Treasure. Besides he is probably the only one reading this... I have to start being nice to him though, since he gave me the twin to his Church Pew today in exchange for all of this free publicity! The other one's still available at his shop across the street.

New Shop Tunes

I'm always looking for new shop music but it's tricky building a music library that is appropriate for the general public. Sometimes an iffy song or two makes it on its way to the iPod and you'll find me diving from behind the counter waving my remote like a lunatic when it comes on. Just last week a lady was grooving to the Soul Asylum rendition of Rhinestone Cowboy - I mean, she was belting it out. But I'm pretty sure the version she was familiar with did not contain the line "It's been a #!@*)#! load of compromising..." Oops. Hopefully she was not too offended, it's not like I was playing Rage Against the Machine or something.

This week I found a Tribute to Bob Dylan Concert featuring a huge medley of excellent artists and with 29 songs figured it was worth a gamble. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a Winner! Yesterday a guy asked what radio station was playing and today 2 chicks said they were "Rocking out" to it. Come on in and have a listen!

Struck Gold!!

The Phantom Picker never fails to disappoint. We visited EIGHT Undisclosed Locations today and I managed to cram my Jeep so full I was unable to even dent the supply in the Phantom Picker's shed, much to her other half's dismay. (In fairness, I can understand his frustration, after all we ARE in New England and one never knows when one might need access to one's snowblower in... MAY!! Geez Louise.)

No pictures today as unfortunately there is no Flash Photography allowed with the Phantom Picker and you must keep your hands inside the ride at all times.

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire...

No it's not Thank God, I've just had that song in my head since this whole roofing activity started. I did surface today to kindly ask the Roofers to move their vehicle and it only cost me $900 in extra materials they discovered I needed after excavation began. Seriously... I am not complaining because their price is right, they're doing a nice orderly job, obviously experienced and they're still coming in at HALF of any other estimate we got. (You KNOW you need a new roof when a local roofer stops by unsolicited TWICE to tell you he cringes every time he drives by your house!!) I'm not aware of any Historical Restrictions on my house mainly because I come from the "Easier to Ask Forgiveness than Permission" school of thought, but I am really glad we stuck with the cedar shakes in the front to maintain the integrity of our circa 1833 home. Hopefully it will weather nicely in time for its sesquicentenialbiennialseptigenarian celebration or whatever 175 years is, next year!

Here are some photos and if you recognize the house no use casing the joint, there are no Fine Antiquities here just crap I stole from Mack to paint.

Tomorrow I will be out-of-pocket (Argh! a holdover from my Corporate Days! Let's all "Take this offline" and "Step up to the Plate"...) I mean I will be unable to post because I am meeting my Phantom Picker on her last Wednesday off to see what goodies she's amassed and we will maybe do some purchasing in Undisclosed Locations. Tune in to the website later in the week to see what Goodies have arrived!!

Armoire Rescue Mission

OK so I didn't really get a Before Photo of this thing because my camera batteries were dead yesterday but you can see from the door I haven't painted yet that it was really an Untouchable. I found it languishing at Never Open Antiques across the street from my shop (you know where I mean, I'm just changing the names to protect the innocent, namely ME Salvage Chick.) Anyway the Proprieter in question, let's call him "Mack", was griping that it was junkier than he thought it was when he bought it at "Rob's" Yard Sale and he was never going to get his money back. I suggested that maybe he dust it off, turn it so it's not facing the wall, maybe put the lights on for people who might want to look at it... or better yet just PAINT IT!! He looks at me all "IhaveaRealJobIdon'thaveTimetoPaintIWouldRatherDonateItTothe2BrothersDownTheBlockToSell" SIGH... Fine! I offered to paint it for him and get him his money back and keep any surplus for myself.

Now, if I were a Betting Chick, I'd say Rob found this on the side of the road in Brockton and sold it to Mack for $45 which he was never going to get for it in that condition and not just because he's Never Open... and for me to take it and slap some paint on it and sell it so Mack breaks even and I make a few bucks, seems to me like Rob and I are involved in some bizarre Pyramid Scheme. But deep down I know Mack was just tossing Rob a Mercy Purchase because he can use the cash and they are both Really Nice Guys who help me out all the time so HEY what's a few minutes of my time and some paint?

Inaugural Post!

Well I realized the Salvage Chick's house tab on my website was turning into more of a Blog than I planned so I thought it might be fun to add a true Blog to the site. Now you can tune in whenever you want to see what hijinks the Salvage Chick is up to and even add your own comments, what fun!!

I'm not sure what excitement today will bring because my roofers are blocking the driveway again and if you recall from the website, I was trying to avoid them lest I say something sassy about their Two Week Absence and tick them off, causing further delay. But I am beginning to feel like a bit of a shut-in on Day 2 so we shall see.

Right now I'm off to check the progress of an armoire I've been painting and snap a picture or two. I'll be back!!