The Pick - Part 3 - Beware of Quacks!

BEFORE

This rattan console table's surroundings weren't doing it justice where we found it while picking the business that had gone out. You can see Part One HERE and Part Two HERE.

The Story of a Pick - Part One

My friend, Lynette, and I recently had the opportunity to go picking through a business that was no more.

Good thing it says "No Soliciting" and not "No Picking".

Junk Eccentricity or Junk Insanity?

It was another intriguing Thursday morning trash day in our little waterside town. The battle of Me vs Me started before dawn while I still lie in bed thinking those interruptive thoughts that snatch my sleep because the subject matter is soooo weighty. 

Would I go hunting for junk that morning or not? That was the important question that separated me from my slumber in the dark. 

"There's no room for more stuff!", Rational-Practical-Would-Love-to-Sleep-Past-5:30-Me told Maniacal-Junk-Greedy Me. No need to go hunting. Settled. I turned over and nestled my head soundly back into my pillow, happy that another daily dilemma was wiped off the "worry chart" and I could sleep on until the next worry butt in to wake me. It was simple really. I couldn't go, for I am in danger of being run out of my own home by my kids who think a safe walking path and room to breath is of some import. Case closed.

Maniacal Junk-Greedy Me is persistent though, and drives a hard bargain. "We'll just drive a few streets and look! What if there's something out there?!" I lured myself with the promise of a possible discovery. By "SOMETHING", Junk-Greedy-Me means something that would be a heart breaker to see lost forever, whether we want it, need it, have room for it - or not. It's the principal of the thing, and for all of Junk-Greedy-Me's gimme-gimme, grabby hands, that Me's attitude is rooted in the past and aggravated by the present. My love for the past longs to fight a valiant battle to beat back the present's evil desire to suck all the treasured wood and metal relics down into the ashes of the earth and make a sort of historical compost out of them. Uh, uh!

The battle lines are drawn and so are our junk warrior weapons!

Shut off the alarm, fire up the coffee, rev up the engine, and we're off. 

Yes, Practical-Rational-Me is a pushover.

Plus my sleep was already ruined. Once I'm awake, I might as well get up and drive. I know I'll never fall back to sleep.

From Trash Heap to Trash Heap

It's hard to let go, even when you've only known a cute new piece of junk for an hour. 

Today was free trash Thursday, and I went looking...just because, you know...stuff might be out there.

I happened upon a pile of chippy green wood, and this little matching table was sitting upside down on top. It was filthy, but I liked the scalloped edge that went all the way around. It was going to make a sweet little back patio table.

I hauled it into the backseat where I promptly got mud and all manner of filth all over the passenger headrest and the seat. Who cares, I thought. This little sweet thang is worth it.

The Thrice Picked Pile

This morning, on the way to work, I was driving and thinking... still thinking about that pile from Saturday... you know, the one I have already picked twice! See my post, Sweet Saturday Haul.





I couldn't get it off my mind and even though I barely had time to get to work without being late, I veered in the direction of that pile to do a drive by and see if the trash collectors had come. I'm like that. I salvage things the first time, then regret not going for the full monty. But three times to one pile? Is that necessary? 


I could be so much more efficient.


On the way there, I spotted a new pile. [Heart skipping beats.] I wouldn't have given it a second look, except that it contained a long table with drop leaf ends. Now my heart was flipping. I'm a sucker for a drop leaf table, and this one was a bit out of the ordinary with the leaves at the ends. Could I get it in my back seat without creating a scene?  


I called my boss. She gave her blessing to a reasonable amount of "picking tardiness" and I soldiered on. Thanks, Kathryn!


The original pile was still there and while someone had gotten to it, the drawers remained! I grabbed the three that were left and a good piece of wood, threw them in the back seat and went back to the new treasure.

Sadly, when I got closer, the drop leaf table was in really terrible shape. And it was really long. The legs were falling off and the top was made of three pieces of very damaged wood. It did have three nice wood front drawers with heavy duty hardware. I pulled one out and it fell apart in my hand. Not a good sign. Still, the front was a hard reddish wood of some sort and the sides were solid and stamped, Century Furniture of Distinction. The insides were water-damaged, moldy and disgusting, but into the back seat I threw them. 

I truly wanted that table, and it could have been made into a patio potting table, but sadly I knew I could not make it fit. Besides, I told myself as consolation, it might have termites. 

Of course, I thought all day about the one that got away [sigh]. I will keep its memory as my inspiration and see about salvaging more wood and trying my hand at making one of my own in the near future. 

If I had been smart, I would have dismantled that thing and taken the legs. They were a simple shaker style and would have been perfect for something else. Kick me, kick me, kick me!

No regrets

One of these days I'll learn to pick a pile clean... the first time. I can always throw it away when I get home if I don't want it. When will I learn?! I hope you are more pick savvy than I. If not, take a lesson from my regrets. Take it all now and decide later. 

So here's what my third pick to the Saturday pile and my one pick of the new pile yielded today:

Unfinished drawers and wood. I got home and piled it all inside by the front door. Casey made the expected exasperated exclamations.

The scary drawers were taken straight around to the back porch. They came complete with some boxes of prescription "ointment."

...but aren't these beautiful?

After holding my breath as I tore down the moldy, disgusting drawers and after throwing away the unusable part, I lined them up and here's what I have left to work with some day. The ends are dovetailed. Nice.

I moved the new unfinished drawers from the "thrice picked pile" to the Florida room to reunite with the cabinets I had taken from the pile on my two Saturday picks. 

Why is it my house always looks like we are in the middle of a move?

Don't answer that.

And... ta, da... a bonus! Here's what one of the drawers yielded...

 (The name has been redacted to protect the patient.)

There were four boxes of this stuff. Ick. Just goes to show ya, though, you never know what you'll get when you pick a pile or when you open a drawer. So get looking. Just always remember to look out!

Happy hunting!

You can find me at Stuff & Nonsense's Friday's Unfolded