freshvintage

Hurricane Preparation Tips for Lazy Antique Dealers

Here are a few tips on how to prepare your home for a hurricane, specifically for people who can't fit another damn thing in their garage.

Tip #1: Tie down everything on your deck or patio

Here's what my deck normally looks like:

Here's what it looks like now:

Most of my neighbors were able to actually put all of their furniture into their garages. I know - that is AMAZING! Like a miracle sent straight from God Himself. Not us, we bought some super-strong bungee cords and secured all of our furniture directly to the deck railings. I bet my neighbors are all in pain right now, from all that heavy-lifting. Bungee cords, dummies!

Tip #2: Move all of the junk that is on your front porch into your living room

Maybe your husband reads your blog and found out that you like typewriter tables, so he bought you every one within a fifty-mile radius. And since your garage is packed, you were storing the tables on your front porch, right next to your front door. Because that's where you like to do your typing. Anyway, just drag that junk inside, and plop it anywhere.

Tip #3: Keep the heaviest stuff on the porch because you are lazy

If you have any super heavy iron hospital beds, and you are too tried and hungover to bring them inside, just lay them down on the porch. If you get a second wind later in the day, you might want to bungee cord those to a porch column or something sturdy.

Tip #4: Don't buy a vintage camper on eBay and then send your husband and brother-in-law to pick it up in Michigan three days before a major hurricane. And then don't buy the biggest tarp in the history of tarps, and make your tired husband cover the camper, even though he had just towed it 700 miles in the rain, and there were no leaks.

Can't wait to show you what it looks like! I want to make sure it survives the hurricane first. Don't want to get my hopes up.

Playing with My Bird

Yes, I love flea markets. Especially the ones in Adamstown, PA. Chris and I took the kids to Black Angus, Renninger's and Shupp's Grove last Sunday.

Chris and I had lots of fun. I can't say the same for the kids. There weren't many dealers at the markets, so we told them to play tag in the empty spaces. That lasted about 15 minutes. Then they managed to wander into the woods and find two dangerously sharp sticks. Daggers, really. A sword fight ensued. I debated whether I should just leave them alone because we finally had some peace. But then I imagined myself chasing one of their eyeballs as it rolled the dirt, so I made them lose the daggers. When we finished shopping, we erased all of their bad flea market thoughts by taking them to an awesome miniature golf place in Lancaster. 

Amid all of the whining and bribing, we did manage to find some cool stuff. We spent $115 for everything here. Most of our finds were from the flea markets, except for the burlap sacks that Chris bought at an auction last week, the hunting signs (estate sale), and the typewriter, which he scored at a local thrift store.

Isn't she beautiful!? It is a 1926 Underwood portable typewriter with a red faux bois (fake wood grain) finish. Here's a photo of one in great condition that sold for $350 on Etsy. They sold this typewriter in several finishes, including mahogany and green.

These metal hunting signs are so hot on eBay - I found similar signs ranging from $45 to $125. I love to imagine some big, burly hunter ripping the No Hunting sign off a tree as a trophy. Kind of a big "Eff You" to the Parks Service.

Here are a couple of vintage cameras: a Kodak Midget and a Baby Brownie. And a set of small brass stencils that slide together. They are sitting atop a red safe deposit box with painted gold trim.

Each one of the burlap sacks in this pile is different - most of them have great graphics and colors. Chris paid three dollars for all of them at a Lancaster County auction. Some were a little moldy, so we hosed them off and dried them in the sun. No more mold. But they still have that typical burlap smell. Is it possible to get rid of that? Anyone?

I've been wanting one of these potato chip stands for a while. I have the kind that you hang, but not a standing rack. I've seen lots of reproductions around, but I think this one is an oldie. I'm going to use it for displaying postcards or little bags of game pieces and whatnot.

I bought a few "Modern Kitchen" catalogs at Black Angus. These two feature the steel cabinets made by American and Morgan. I've become a little obsessed with those cabinets lately - especially after reading about all of the 1950s kitchens on Retro Renovation. This green & aqua kitchen might be my favorite.

This was our most expensive find: a Victorian-era birdcage on a stand that is a shorter than the ones I normally see. It isn't adjustable, either. Maybe it is chair-height so you could enjoy your canaries while drinking tea or playing cards.

But, more likely, it was a privy birdcage, so people could play with their bird while they did their dirty business. Yes - that sounds right. I'm going with that.