Heart Stone, Buried Treasures

     It's the season of cleaning out and purging! We decided to have a huge, indoor yard sale at our church and it was the perfect opportunity to rummage through the basement and say goodbye to "stuff" I've been holding onto for way too long. The thing about cleaning out and purging is that it can become addictive. It feels so good to unload stuff that I want to look for more stuff and keep the good feeling going. Of course, Steve will never have to worry too much about me emptying out the house. For every five things I purge, I will bring home one or two more things that someone else is purging. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is a motto in which I firmly believe. I've been swapping trash and treasure with folks all week! I like to find things for other people, too. This week I found an antique, framed print for one daughter and some Guinness glasses for her husband. As I always say, "The fun is in the hunt!"
     One of the places my roaming took me this week was an estate sale in an 1800 log cabin. It is just up the road from the school where I work so I popped in to have a look. I mainly wanted to see the cabin and the estate sale was a great opportunity to gain entrance to a cabin that we've driven past dozens of times over the years. There were severe storms during the night, real gully washers, and the day was just beginning to clear when I pulled into the driveway and snapped this photo on my phone. The property is for sale and you can view the listing here.

1800 log cabin for sale

      One of the things I find uncomfortable about estate sales is the situation which brings the estate to sale to begin with. Most of the time, an elderly person has died and the family puts the property and contents up for sale. When you walk into these homes, you are walking into someone's life. The contents of the home remain intact, just as it was when the home reverberated with life. Often times you will see evidence of decline, a home that could no longer be kept up, once loved objects fallen into disrepair. Almost always, the owner's clothing still hangs in the closets. It feels a little intrusive so I always purpose to be respectful when I am in these homes and to treat everything I touch with care.     

Do you see the heart stone in the fireplace?

          I don't know much about the architecture of log cabins, but this home seemed very solid to me. It was roomier than I expected and for a moment I dreamed of living there. I saw a small table for sale that caught my attention. It was slightly beat up and a bit rickety with a lot of cobwebs and dust on it. It was the perfect size for a spot on our screened porch and I knew I could paint it with chalk paint and give it new life. The general rule of estate sales is that on Fridays, items are full price. On Saturday they are marked down by 25% and on Sunday they are marked down by 50%. Most people attend on Saturdays an Sundays. This table was only $24 and being a Friday at full price, I still thought that was a bargain, so I bought it. After I brought it home and cleaned it up, I realized the lower shelf didn't belong with it. The more I examined the table I realized I couldn't bring myself to paint it. It is a dear little table, very pretty and delicate in its features. I also realized the top wasn't loose and falling off as I had first encountered when loading it in my car. It actually folds open and swivels around to form a game table. It would be perfect for puzzles (which I do not do) or a perfect table for some quick, extra seating for four people. For now, I have it off to the side while I admire it and consider where it needs to permanently reside in our home.

Newly arrived at home, and ready with the Chalk Paint when I realize the shelf on the bottom doesn't belong. Hmm...

Cleaned up! (I still need to remove the screws on the legs that were used to hold the shelf.) The top folds open and doubles the size of the table. The glass tumbler with spoons on the table is one I found at the church yard sale for 75 cents. It's a Rochere glass, made in France and has little raised honeybees around it.

I also found this chair at the yard sale for $3. It was originally from the Hotel Roanoke. I won't paint this either because of the decorative back. It's still very sturdy and I envision reupholstering the seat with a pumpkin orange velvet. : )