Update On My Buggy Hickory Chairs

Ok,  so you remember my post Tips on Getting Rid of Wood Eating Bugs (click here to view that post), specifically for those eating four hickory chairs that I purchased. When we last visited about them, I shared that I had painted a borax solution on them and later sprayed them with insecticide.  I "baked" them while sealed plastic on the basketball court of the old house for two days AND then on the back deck of the new house for at least two days, but the second day we had rain.

(See some of the insect damage on the chair in the above pic).
So we threw them in the empty van, still covered in plastic.  We parked the sealed van in the hot sun for several days (stow and go seating, got to love it) until I could get to them.  So I did all I could to kill those little buggars.

(See insect exit hole in above pic.)
I finally removed the plastic sheeting and I used a wood stain on all exposed wood.  Then spread a nice white sheet in the back of the van and plopped the chairs on it for two more days in the hot sun.  (We have another vehicle so I did not need to drive the van during this time).  The white sheet was there in case there were any critter sawdust, it would be easy to see.


The big reveal was today.  ONE of the chairs still had tell-tale signs of powder post beetles.  I did not have it in me to repeat all the procedures I tried, so in the burn pile it goes.  TWO of the chairs were invited into our tiny living room, and blend in great.  The last chair I will sell, and hope to recoup the money I spent on the chairs, the insecticide, the 55 gallon trash bags and the stain.

Making The Move

 We made the move!

It was preceded by a couple weeks of pretty rough goodbyes.

I have volunteered with the above ladies for years at a

"store" that gives away clothing to the less fortunate.

 This is my "reading club" that ditched the reading years ago.

More like a lunch club with amazing support and some great wisdom.

Ladies that I have been friends with for years came to see me off.

Some of the wonderful friends that I didn't even manage to get a photo of. 

(I managed to not pick up my camera during the whole move.😕

 What we did right:

throw ourselves a "farewell party" where friends to could stay

to help us pack afterwards.  The above shows all the yummy

treats they brought.  I don't really even remember the

packing stage, I just carried the neighbor's baby around like a security blanket.

 I think we had about 30 awesome people helping us

pack every square inch of this 20 foot moving truck.

(And only 6 people to unload and unpack, much

gratitude to my sister-in-laws family and my son.)

Fortunately, they didn't realize everything we had squirrelled

away in our "shop" every trip we made down here for the last 

six months.  But that can wait for now.

Moving Melancholy

All changes, even the most longed for,

have their melancholy;

For what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves,

we must die to one life before we can enter another.

-- Anatolle France. 

You have had fair warning,

this may be a downer.  And probably too sad for family members.

As the house is emptying out I needed to snap a few photos.

But bright colors seemed a little too cheery....

it is starting to really hit me.

 So this post was me wandering around outside.

This is a giant tree in front of our house.

It has kept watch over the house about 100 years,

and over my family for 30 years.

 I like to think how many times we wandered in and out of this gate.

(And how I ruined my knees laying that brick).

 I did dig up a few plants to take,

but I am leaving many behind.

There was not one flower or bush in the yard when we moved in.

 Original shed (out house?),

one of my favorite things about the yard.

View of church next door.

I can still see two little boys holding hands,

walking up that sidewalk.

Being followed our loyal gold tomcat who met them at the end of the block.

Tips To Getting Rid Of Bugs Eating Vintage Wood

What in the world is going on here?

Slow death.

I hope.

I bought four hickory arm chairs at a yard sale Thursday (for a song).

I am starting to be drawn to hickory furniture,

the kind that still has the bark on it.

(Look at the "Old Hickory" furniture website for inspiration.)

I put them on my front porch, because I knew I was going to a flea market

on Saturday and might need the room in the van.  After that,

I could just load them back in the van for a trip to the "south house" next week.

Then on Friday I spied sawdust on my red porch.  What?

Further examination showed all the chairs suffered from some overnight "chewing".

YUCK!!

On-line research led me to believe it is powder post beetles.

Many suggestions on getting rid of them,

the most thorough being burning the furniture (which still may happen.)

But here is what I am trying first:

1.  My first step was mixing up a solution of borax and hot water.

I painted it on the wood with a paintbrush.

That seemed pretty simple, cheap, and non-toxic.

2.  But I spent more time on-line and got more paranoid.

I don't think the borax solution can soak in because of the bark.

So, I bought a spray from our neighborhood hardware store that

is supposed to kill ants and termites.

But will it kill whatever is eating my chairs?

3.  Which brings us to "baking".

Bringing the wood to 135 degrees for several hours should kill all bugs and eggs.

On-line research showed men devoting quite a bit of money and time setting up

elaborate ways to heat up their wood (insulated cages with heaters, "kilns"

made from junk wood with wood burning stove inside).  The suggestion to put

them in an attic all summer was a simple one, but our attic doesn't have a hole big enough

and we are MOVING IN A WEEK.  So I bought giant black plastic bags to cover them.

 Side note:

Men love discussing "or" scenarios.

Who would win in a fight, batman or superman?

If you are stopping your car for a short time in the summer --

smarter to crack your window or leave them rolled up to keep the car cool?

(I ran across this one while doing research, the answer is rolled up).

It did not surprise me therefore when a large group of men were very 

interested in my own "or" scenario at the hardware store.....

Which would raise the temperature of the wood more:

putting the black plastic encased chairs in my van with the windows rolled up or

on a basketball court in the direct sun?

After much speculation (which is really what "or" scenarios are all about)

I went home and put them on the basketball court.

I am going to leave them there for two hot, sunny days and then check on them.

I'll let you know:

burn or save?

Feather & Fur Flea Finds 8.11.2018

 This weekend was the bi-annual Feather & Fur Flea Market.

Oh, there is "junk" there too, but this year the animals were the stars.

We are looking into miniature goats, so I was admiring Billy.

 But then I saw these guys!  Swooon!

They were worth getting up for this morning.

 Look at that cute little piggy face!

The guy says that get to be about 30 lbs,

I forgot what breed they were already.

 Here are his friends!  Hot mess of cute.

Whew, I am still trying to get over them.

 Remember we are packing up and moving cross-state

a week from today?

One more double washtub won't make a difference, right?

And I can use the three wire baskets for packing....

10 Collectibles That Have Lost Value

I just bought a "crock" bowl for about $8, and was thinking how a few years ago it would have been $30 or more.  That got me thinking about other items that are not worth picking up for resale.

1.  Glassware.  Almost all unmarked vintage glassware, and some that is marked.  Might as well use it for target practice.  If you have some depression glass, don't be depressed.  Just hang on to it, it will probably swing back in favor.

2.  Dishes, china sets. Even fine china. The generations younger than me use paper plates if they are entertaining, and just are not interested in owning more than than dish set.  Good news -- I can afford to get a "new" vintage set whenever I get tired of the old one.

3. Crock Bowls  (also known as stoneware bowls).  Man oh Man, I remember when these use to go high at auctions.  And not just the yellowware.  Last week I bought three for $12 (two did have damage, but still...)

4. Beanie Babies

5.  Commemorative Plates.  Souvenir Plates.  Calendar Plates.  All worthless.

6.  Precious Moments, Hummels

7.  Lunchboxes.  Sad, because I was once an avid collector.  But they still make great receptacles in which to store your worthless baseball cards or beanie babies.

8.  Cookie Jars

 9. Old prints.  There are very few times where I leave an old print in the frame.  Usually I can get more from the frame without the old print in it.  Sad but true.

 10.  Roseville. McCoy. Red Wing.  I am sure there are other potteries that have dropped in value.  But I have noticed these three definitely dropping in value.

New Interior Work At The Ozark House

 While I have been babysitting our northern house

my husband has been hard at work on the Ozark House.

Among other things he got the vintage light fixture hung in the dining room.

Not easy, because I wanted the opening relocated.

 And he took out an old dishwasher....

built shelves in it...

and added matching cabinet doors to give me more

much-needed cabinet space.

Friday's Vintage Finds 08.03.2018

I had about 5 garage sales and one church sale on my morning junking list.  I wasn't expecting much, and to make matters worse -- I slept in past 7 am.  The late bird does NOT get the worm.... most days.  But at 7:20 am I pulled up to a sale that only one other person had been at, and she was leaving when the people called out that there was stuff INSIDE the house too.  Yeah! The first thing I spied with my little eye was the crock bowl on the right, I did a little research and they have really fallen in value.....

I found this old Mccoy fish pitcher in the garage.

And wouldn't you know it, McCoy is another thing that has taken a dip in value.

I think this merits a future post.  But moving on....

Next was the church sale.

Can't you picture this ceiling shade in someone's mid-century red and white kitchen?

I will be putting it on ebay.

I also got some yummy apple butter and homegrown tomatoes from that stop.

Next yardsale had this sweet Amish Pyrex bowl.

Talk about something that has gone UP in value.

If I had stopped there, my husband would have been happy.

But I also purchased a medical cabinet, big and heavy.

Remember, everything is getting moved in two weeks or less....

Old China Cabinet Gets Facelift

I mentioned a few days ago that I had started to work on this china cabinet (click here to read that post). We bought it back around 1986 from a little old lady whose husband had made it for her.  We paid $75, which was a lot of money for us.  I was thinking that for our Ozark house I wanted something older and more primitive to put dishes in, but frankly that is not in the budget right now.  

 After three coats of paint, I was ready to distress.  Except my palm sander was at our other house.

All I had was a sanding sponge.  I did what I could with that, but was not satisfied.  

Then I used a razor blade.  Better.  Then I used a butter knife, and got the best result.

 I then did a quick wipe-on, wipe-off with a coat of light stain.  This just aged the piece a bit,

and gave a little more color variation.  

I had purchased a roll of wallpaper off of ebay, to paper the back of the cabinet.

 Just to shake things up a bit.  

Unfortunately, when the paper came it was not pre-glued.  So I used clear polyurathane

(because that is what I had, and didn't want to spend any more money.)

It acted as a very good adhesive, though I wouldn't recommend it normally. 

I am not putting the shelves in or back panel on until the piece gets moved down south.

Which is also where my hardware stash is, so the drawer pulls will have to wait.

 So no staging for a final photo, but it still is a beauty.