We were setting up the outside on Wednesday. It was mostly done, but we still were waiting for 2 roller coaster cars that were to come in after I left. These photos are of the mostly completed outside. Hope to see you at the sale.
Mr. Flannery
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Its Sale Time at Gypsy Lea's
Our occasional sale at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids starts today. We are only open four days each month. We are open the 2nd Thursday thru Sunday every month and we sell, sell and sell. The limited floor space is restocked constantly. So what you see today will be significantly different on Sunday. Because we are in the center of the St. Cloud area, our customers can stop by more than once each sale. And many do stop by 3-4 times.
We were setting up the outside on Wednesday. It was mostly done, but we still were waiting for 2 roller coaster cars that were to come in after I left. These photos are of the mostly completed outside. Hope to see you at the sale.
We were setting up the outside on Wednesday. It was mostly done, but we still were waiting for 2 roller coaster cars that were to come in after I left. These photos are of the mostly completed outside. Hope to see you at the sale.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Working on My Masters - In Truck Loading
I went to an auction near Spicer Minnesota last night. It started at 4:30 and I got there about 5:30. I hadn't missed anything. The smalls and tools were not of much interest so I mostly sat and watched while the next two hours passed. I did buy an English Tantalus frame. Great metal, wood and mechanics, but no bottles. I'm pretty certain that no one else knew (or cared) what is was.
The furniture wasn't special, but there were two or three pieces that I was interested in buying. They were the heaviest things, other than a tractor, that were there. I bought a giant 36 drawer cupboard, a cupboard base and an antique pump organ with its stool. As I said, good junk, but nothing special.
I then loaded all these pieces into my truck. I packed them so efficiently that I was even able to close the tailgate. Part of my masters degree in truck loading for sure. It was drizzling, 41* and dark when I got home at 10:oo PM, so I didn't even attempt to unload the truck.
Even the small white bentwood chair is carefully packed into the truck without undue overhang.
This 1940's leather office chair is going to be part of my office redo. I have been using a hard wood captain's chair, but now I will have springs and cushions instead. Babe is checking out the merchandice prior to admitting it into HIS house.
The chair is steel and leather. It is built like a tank and weighs about 50 pounds. Must be part of the post WWII return to civilian manufacture. They just took the gun out of the turret and upholstered it. It has lasted 60 years and with a little bit of leather cleaner, should be good for another 40.
The furniture wasn't special, but there were two or three pieces that I was interested in buying. They were the heaviest things, other than a tractor, that were there. I bought a giant 36 drawer cupboard, a cupboard base and an antique pump organ with its stool. As I said, good junk, but nothing special.
I then loaded all these pieces into my truck. I packed them so efficiently that I was even able to close the tailgate. Part of my masters degree in truck loading for sure. It was drizzling, 41* and dark when I got home at 10:oo PM, so I didn't even attempt to unload the truck.
Even the small white bentwood chair is carefully packed into the truck without undue overhang.
This 1940's leather office chair is going to be part of my office redo. I have been using a hard wood captain's chair, but now I will have springs and cushions instead. Babe is checking out the merchandice prior to admitting it into HIS house.
The chair is steel and leather. It is built like a tank and weighs about 50 pounds. Must be part of the post WWII return to civilian manufacture. They just took the gun out of the turret and upholstered it. It has lasted 60 years and with a little bit of leather cleaner, should be good for another 40. The rest of the stuff will be unloaded today. I'll build a top for the drawer unit and then paint it. It'll probably be at Gypsy Lea's for the June sale. The pump organ will be sacrificed. Some pieces will go to the project that I'm doing with the other pump organ that I bought last week. The keyboard, stool and some fancy frame pieces will be at Gypsy Lea's too.
I have to unload the truck today because I have another auction tonight. Oh boy!
Mr. Flannery
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Its a Mega-Giga-Tera Byte Thing
I bought a new computer last month. My eight year old Pentium IV was starting to groan and sputter. (And 8 years is about 2 millennia in "computer years"). I have been watching the online offers from Dell and others and was prepared to jump at the right deal. For a short time I toyed with the idea of assembling my own computer from components purchased at someplace like Tiger Direct, but ultimately decided that I wanted the new computer to work during this millennium.
Dell had a great deal last month, so I jumped. It has an Intel 7i core processor, 8 gigabytes of RAM, 1024 megabytes on the video card and a terabyte hard drive. It comes with a 23" HD monitor and the capacity to run three monitors at the same time. Now came the first issue. I have to wait while they build and then ship it. The initial advisory was three weeks until delivery. Oh my!
Being from the instant gratification generation, I needed my NEW computer now. I wanted those mega-giga-terabytes now (or at least sooner rather than later).
E-mail updates from Dell indicated that the build was faster than first stated. The shipping date was moved up. My new computer would be here in 10 days, rather than 3 weeks. Oh boy!
The date got closer, my anticipation grew. Then came the next uncomfortable realization. UPS was scheduled to deliver my new computer on the same day that we were going to be at the Pioneer Power Show in LeSueur. UPS will not leave my computer here without a signature. And Babe is worthless, again, in the signing for capacity.
Fortunately I saw the UPS driver the day before delivery and made arrangements for him to leave it in my garage. Whewwww!
I returned home from Pioneer Power dusty and dog tired. The computer was in the garage, but I wasn't in any condition to deal with it that day. The next morning it was brought into the house. Then there was realization number 3. I didn't want to disassemble the older computer until I was sure that the new one was functioning properly. I cleared a space on the center island in the kitchen and started unpacking.
Even with all its mega-giga-terabytes the thing was easy to assemble. Two power cords, an hdmi cable to the monitor, the keyboard cable, a sensor into a USB port for the mouse and the antenna for the wireless network connection, and away we go. It fired up, the Dell logo flashed on the screen, then the Windows 7 logo followed by a couple of software install screens. It worked. HURRAY!
Then the 4th realization hit. I was going to have to transfer all my data and files and passwords from the old computer to the new one. Windows 7 makes this easy. Ya sure! I read and copied and read some more. Horrors! Windows 7 does not support Outlook Express for email. I have used Outlook Express for umpteen years and I was not happy with Microsoft's decision to abandon its own program to force me into Windows Live. Damn Microsoft!
I have been gradually transferring data from old to new. The old computer remains in its place in my office. The new computer is now assembled in the dining room. The new computer is blazing fast. The old computer is a comfortable dinosaur. The new computer surfs the web with lightning speed. The old computer sputters along. The new computer sits isolated from my TVs and other office essentials. I am torn.
And then there is realization number 5. The new computer should be integrated into a new office setting. I have been contemplating redesigning my office setting for a couple of weeks. I have 2 HD TVs, 3 old style TVs, 3 computer monitors, a satellite TV receiver and a surround sound receiver to incorporate into the new design. I have the perfectly sized shelving unit fully loaded with junk in the garage. I want to do the redo right. Oh crap!
So for the next few weeks I will be emptying and moving shelves, disconnecting and reconnecting video equipment, reconstituting my computer network and otherwise unplugging, plugging and wiring everything in my office. It will be frustrating, unnecessarily complicated, and horrifyingly incomplete. But ultimately I will be pushing mega-giga-terabytes from my command center in the reconstructed office. Yippee!!!
Mr. Flannery
Dell had a great deal last month, so I jumped. It has an Intel 7i core processor, 8 gigabytes of RAM, 1024 megabytes on the video card and a terabyte hard drive. It comes with a 23" HD monitor and the capacity to run three monitors at the same time. Now came the first issue. I have to wait while they build and then ship it. The initial advisory was three weeks until delivery. Oh my!
Being from the instant gratification generation, I needed my NEW computer now. I wanted those mega-giga-terabytes now (or at least sooner rather than later).
E-mail updates from Dell indicated that the build was faster than first stated. The shipping date was moved up. My new computer would be here in 10 days, rather than 3 weeks. Oh boy!
The date got closer, my anticipation grew. Then came the next uncomfortable realization. UPS was scheduled to deliver my new computer on the same day that we were going to be at the Pioneer Power Show in LeSueur. UPS will not leave my computer here without a signature. And Babe is worthless, again, in the signing for capacity.
Fortunately I saw the UPS driver the day before delivery and made arrangements for him to leave it in my garage. Whewwww!
I returned home from Pioneer Power dusty and dog tired. The computer was in the garage, but I wasn't in any condition to deal with it that day. The next morning it was brought into the house. Then there was realization number 3. I didn't want to disassemble the older computer until I was sure that the new one was functioning properly. I cleared a space on the center island in the kitchen and started unpacking.
Even with all its mega-giga-terabytes the thing was easy to assemble. Two power cords, an hdmi cable to the monitor, the keyboard cable, a sensor into a USB port for the mouse and the antenna for the wireless network connection, and away we go. It fired up, the Dell logo flashed on the screen, then the Windows 7 logo followed by a couple of software install screens. It worked. HURRAY!
Then the 4th realization hit. I was going to have to transfer all my data and files and passwords from the old computer to the new one. Windows 7 makes this easy. Ya sure! I read and copied and read some more. Horrors! Windows 7 does not support Outlook Express for email. I have used Outlook Express for umpteen years and I was not happy with Microsoft's decision to abandon its own program to force me into Windows Live. Damn Microsoft!
I have been gradually transferring data from old to new. The old computer remains in its place in my office. The new computer is now assembled in the dining room. The new computer is blazing fast. The old computer is a comfortable dinosaur. The new computer surfs the web with lightning speed. The old computer sputters along. The new computer sits isolated from my TVs and other office essentials. I am torn.
And then there is realization number 5. The new computer should be integrated into a new office setting. I have been contemplating redesigning my office setting for a couple of weeks. I have 2 HD TVs, 3 old style TVs, 3 computer monitors, a satellite TV receiver and a surround sound receiver to incorporate into the new design. I have the perfectly sized shelving unit fully loaded with junk in the garage. I want to do the redo right. Oh crap!
So for the next few weeks I will be emptying and moving shelves, disconnecting and reconnecting video equipment, reconstituting my computer network and otherwise unplugging, plugging and wiring everything in my office. It will be frustrating, unnecessarily complicated, and horrifyingly incomplete. But ultimately I will be pushing mega-giga-terabytes from my command center in the reconstructed office. Yippee!!!
Mr. Flannery
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Ready for May at Gypsy Lea's
Gypsy has whipped her crew into action and the shop is 99% set for the May sale at Gypsy Lea's. (The number is 99% because no matter what something will be moved or changed before the doors open on Thursday). Here are some photos of the shop.
Linda was taking some photos too. However her lens mysteriously cracked with the shot she is taking here.
There is an entire 1950's pinball / bowling alley area this time.
We moved the arches and the check-out counter to start this set-up.
Remember the red drain cover that Kris and I bungeed to the golf cart in LeSueur? Well it looks great hanging from the ceiling with a crystal chandelier dangling inside.
Somehow my red mirror yoke made the 50's wall.
One of my locker hogs.
Boots from the Norwegian auction. Bet he never imagined that they would end up as wall decorations in a "fancy" shop.
My chandelier.
My favorite piece of the sale is in this picture. It is an eight foot long harvest table that Mike made using 100 year old straight grain Douglas fir planks that he salvaged from a Northern Pacific RR boxcar.
Linda was taking some photos too. However her lens mysteriously cracked with the shot she is taking here.
There is an entire 1950's pinball / bowling alley area this time.
We moved the arches and the check-out counter to start this set-up.
Remember the red drain cover that Kris and I bungeed to the golf cart in LeSueur? Well it looks great hanging from the ceiling with a crystal chandelier dangling inside.
Somehow my red mirror yoke made the 50's wall.
One of my locker hogs.
Boots from the Norwegian auction. Bet he never imagined that they would end up as wall decorations in a "fancy" shop.
My chandelier.
My favorite piece of the sale is in this picture. It is an eight foot long harvest table that Mike made using 100 year old straight grain Douglas fir planks that he salvaged from a Northern Pacific RR boxcar.
Mr. Flannery
Thursday, May 6, 2010
It Was an Auction Double Header
Yes, it has gotten worse. Not only did I attend an auction today - I went to TWO auctions. It was a day/night double header. The first was an estate auction near Sleepy Eye Minnesota, which is about 90 miles south of Flannery Bay. The second was Dave Miller's regular Thursday evening auction in St. Cloud. I stopped at home on the way through from one auction to the other just long enough to let Babe outside to stretch his legs. (And he was very disappointed when I headed back out the door without him).
I went to the Sleepy Eye auction to buy this gigantic pump organ. And I got it. Mike and I loaded it into the truck, covered it with the tonneau cover just as the rain started and then headed back to St. Cloud. I have great plans for this organ. I will reveal them later but a hint is "steampunk".
I bought this great 3 piece living room set at Miller's. It is almost new, very clean and comfortable. My intent was to bring it to Gypsy Lea's for the May sale, but now I'm thinking that it would look great in my family room.
Mr. Flannery
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Just a Norwegian Auction
I went to an auction on a family farm just outside of Willmar Minnesota yesterday. It was an estate auction selling out the decades of accumulation of a guy named Fostervold. So I was assuming that it was just another Norwegian immigrant (a couple generations removed from the old country) farm auction.
As is my wont I was about an hour late in getting there and of course I had my valet parking spot about 100 feet from the auction site. Mike and Kris were already there, standing dead center about 10 feet in front of the auctioneer. They already had a mound of junk piled in front of them. Kris was so excited, this was the family farm, the guy was her father's cousin. And there was a trunk made by her father, on the lawn in front of the house. She WAS going to get it. So now this was more than some Norwegian farm auction, this was family.
Kris' story of the auction is here:
http://secondhandrosebuffalo.blogspot.com/2010/05/story-of-kris-and-her-dad.html
I filled the truck with some good buys. A two piece kitchen cupboard, an oak hanging cupboard with mouse chewing on the bottom, two initialed immigrant trunks, Fiesta dishes, 2 Red Wing blue stoneware pie plates, 1920's steering wheel knobs and 1950-70's license plates.
I bought three Sioux brand steel drawers at a garage sale on the way home from the auction.
The mixing bowl is cracked and well used, with lots of crazing and stains. (Much like Mr. Flannery himself, I might add).
I bought a stack of more recent license plates. These are not the real collectible plates, but they are for years that should match the birth years of our customers at Gypsy Lea's.
It was a fun time and watching Kris tear up when talking about the trunk, other family items and long lost family re-encountered, made it a special day.
Mr. Flannery
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