Day Eighty Four 2011

The Nashville Flea Market

I loves me some crocks but didn't buy any.

Always lots of weirdness at the market...like this head.

I always see vintage boots but never buy--just not practical plus my big feet would never fit inside these tiny shoes.

More heads. Maybe to display wigs. They were all lined up on a shelf which looked really neat, but before I could take a picture, this young guy started picking them up and moving them around. He actually bought two of them. And was very picky about which ones he chose. Would love to know what that was all about.

It must have been head day at the flea market. They were everywhere.
Can you believe this old camera? I think it's called a box camera. I saw lots of ancient cameras today. A collector could have a field day buying those.

I really like this head. She may end up as my profile picture on Facebook one of these days. Love her flirty little green hat that matches her eyes.

Hey, look, it's my head. Gratuitous self-portrait of me all cold and wet at the flea market today. Just plain fun.

Nice collection of purple medicine bottles. This glass does not start out this color, but it turns purple through some sort of natural chemical process over time. (Blurry pic, too. Seems most of my pics today are blurry.)

Besides the heads, this is probably the wackiest thing I saw there--a shopping cart full of pink flamingos. Everyone should have at least one pink flamingo in the front yard.

Somebody had an actual fire hydrant for sale (a hundred bucks) and advertised it as a 'dog potty trainer'. Would look great in the front yard along side the pink flamingo.

And last but not least, the flea market is where I go when I need to stock up on ammo. This booth sold all sorts of vintage military stuff--boots, hats, uniforms, ammo....and another weird wacky head to help display it all. Rambo would love it.

Neil and I had a good time browsing around, even though it was cold and wet. We met up with daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry afterward for some soup and salad at Olive Garden. Very enjoyable. And we even managed not to lock ourselves out of the truck this time.

Happy TGIF, everyone!

Day Fifty Six 2011

Self portrait of me, freezing at the Nashville Flea Market this afternoon. Would loved to have had my scarf and gloves.

I like old cameras. Guess I've always had the picture-takin bug.

Saw lots of weird things at the flea market--like deer heads in a wash tub. It's sad to me that these once beautiful animals ended up like this. I'm guessing they came from an estate sell.

Old dolls always creep me out for some reason. I think it's the staring, glazed-over eyes. This was a ventriloquist's puppet, which will probably haunt my dreams tonight. Neil and I always find interesting stuff at the flea market. Looks like it will continue at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds for all of this year. We hope the city or the state comes through and saves the place.

Day Two Hundred Ninety Five 2010

TGIF At The Flea Market

The Nashville Flea Market at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in October is billed as "The Big One" and rightly so. Every booth is taken and filled to the brim with so much stuff you can't possibly see it all in one day. I get a kick out of the vintage clothing and the mannequins that model it. A hat is a must...unless you're headless.

I saw this man lugging a big old bass fiddle around. It was taped up, perhaps to keep it from falling apart. I wonder if he has some restoration in mind for it.

Vintage baby dolls are the creepiest. I'm just saying.

This sign is typical of the outrage the flea market vendors feel toward the powers that be in Nashville. (I'm not sure what that last word is on the sign) The flea market will be here at the fairgrounds through next April. We hear it will be relocated to the old Hickory Hollow mall.

This is good stuff to know. Because you just never know when you might be abducted by aliens.

I wanted this, but I was just crazy enough not to buy it.

I wanted these, too, but Neil didn't want to carry them.

Signs like these always jolt me.

A young man was selling "sound machines" and radios he had restored. We've come a long way, baby.

Self portrait. Me and my shadow, purse, lemonade and the ten gallon crock I bought that was too heavy to carry to the truck which was parked in Timbuktu. Neil had to drive the truck to the crock. Maybe I should have grabbed those cool pumpkins while I had the chance.

We met up with daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry for some supper at Olive Garden in Mt. Juliet--our little after the flea market tradition. Fun day. Happy TGIF, everyone!

Day Twenty Two

Sign Of The Times

The Nashville Flea Market has been around for a long time, making its home every fourth weekend of every month at the Nashville Fairgrounds. This flea market is listed in the top ten flea markets in the nation. Neil and I have been junkin here regularly for the past six or seven years. But the current leadership in Nashville has the idea that this piece of property could better be used in some other (money making) way. If they get their wish, the Tennessee State Fair, the speedway, the flea market and a whole host of other events that take place there will soon be history. We beg to disagree and readily signed the petition to save the Nashville Fairgrounds. The city council will hold a meeting on the matter in February. In the meantime, the flea market is scheduled to run through the end of this year. Neil and I plan to visit as many as we can before another Nashville icon becomes a memory.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Two

Let's Get Random

Saw these cool vintage boots while browsing at the Nashville Flea Market today. I'd love to have them, but they were too narrow for my big feet. Maybe they were Cinderella's boots.

Where's the rest of this deer? I think he must have joined the Syrian army--with bells on.

Clown face in a box. Has to be a refuge from a Stephen King novel. The flea market is never boring.

Vintage Chanel No. 5. No telling how old this Eau de Cologne is. No price tag on it, but I'm sure it's a bargain.

Experimenting with f-stop settings on my new camera. As you can see, I have no idea what I'm doing. Pretty cool all the same. Either that, or the tree is on fire.

Our two cats were cooped up inside the house while we were gone. I'm sure Buddy snoozed upstairs all day. Eddie, on the other hand, amused himself with knocking Christmas ornaments off the tree and playing with this Santa hat. He's been all over this thing, pouncing on it and dragging it around the room. Crazy kitty.

Day Two Hundred Ninety Six

Postcards From The Flea Market And Beyond ...

We drove westward out of the rain and were thankful to see some blue sky beginning to show through the stormy cloud bank just before we reached the I-40/440 split.

I wish I'd asked his name. He was a flea market vendor settled in with his novel. I told him he was the most interesting thing I'd seen so far. He said thanks. I asked if I could take his picture. He said sure. Then he laughed and said if he'd known women wanted to take his picture now, he'd have put on the fat years ago. He was such a nice person. Most of the flea market vendors are.

This skull art was made from human teeth that had been collected over several decades (I think between the thirties and the seventies--I'm guessing by a dentist? Let's hope so, anyway) It was one of the most bizarre items I saw today.

Oh, I do hope someone bought this doll. She looks like she could use a good home.

Neil and I were prepared to endure a windy, rainy, yucky day at the flea market, but we were blessed with beautiful blue sky and awesome clouds. Some things just work out that way. Here we were headed to Mt. Juliet to meet up with daughter Kelly for our traditional after-the-flea-market supper at Olive Garden. It was always a treat to eat there because Cookeville didn't have one until recently. Even now, we never eat at the one here. Weird.

Kelly showed us where she works as a kitchen designer since we were so close by. They're fixing up their showroom with some gorgeous kitchen cabinets.

Welcome to Kelly's desk--the heart and soul of Quality Plus Kitchens. This is where it all comes together, baby. She'll make your dream kitchen come true. (This has been an unsolicited, unpaid advertisement for QPK.) Thanks for the tour, Kelly! I'm glad we could spend some time together this afternoon.

TGIF! Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Day One Hundred Forty Two

Neil and I went to the Nashville Flea Market today at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. I always enjoy it and find interesting stuff. Never any fleas, though. I didn't buy anything today. And that's a first! I had fun taking pictures with my cell phone and here are just a few things that caught my eye. The weather was great. It never rained. And we ended our little out of town outing with our daughter Kelly at Olive Garden--an after-flea market tradition. Good times!

Very cool, very expensive Beatles poster.

These mannequins crack me up just piled up in the dirt.
She looks like she's saying, "How can you laugh at a time
like this!?" How humiliating. I'll bet they once wore stylish
clothes and adorned an expensive department store window.

Love the messages these garden stakes convey. So colorful.

I call this the rolling pin from hell! It looks like an implement

of torture. It probably cut biscuits or doughnuts. I'm always

attracted to rolling pins and own a few I rarely use.