Featured Item of the Week: Lefton Mint or Nut Dishes

It never ceases to amaze me what Treasures I find in my own store. Actually, I have so so many more treasures here packed away in boxes.  They are just waiting for me to drag them out, polish them up and take pictures so you can see and buy them at Hazel's HodgePodge.  

This week I am featuring these beautiful little candy dishes--mint or nut dishes.  These are hand painted and made in Japan.  They are in perfect condition.  Even the gold trim is good and the metallic stickers on the back of each one is in tact and in good shape. They are marked 7161. 

Lefton China was imported to the US from Japan by George Z. Lefton, a Hungarian immigrant who came to the USA in1939.  He founded the Lefton Company in 1941.  Some of the first items imported by Lefton were "made in occupied Japan" pieces.  Lefton china has been sold in many stores and includes pieces of all types.  Lefton is still in business today making collectible pieces. OMT purchased the company in 2005 and moved it to Califonia. I found this site to be very informative about all things Lefton:   Lefton.org.  It is unbelievable how many different items Lefton made and how many kinds of items they made.

These four little fruit shaped dishes might have been used on a bridge table to hold mints or nuts. They are beautifully decorated with hand painted flowers and gold trim.

Lefton Hand Painted Dishes

Label including glued on sticker.

Be sure to check out our store. We have many collectibles and unusual pieces: "Treasures to Brighten Your Day!"

Wind and Water aka Hurricanes

Remembering the song Peace, Be Still. 

The winds and the waves shall obey My will, Peace be still! Peace be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or [devils], or men or whatever it be,
No water can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey My will;
Peace, be still! Peace, be still! They all shall sweetly obey My will: Peace, peace be still!

My heart goes out to all those who endured Hurricane Irene this weekend. Until you have lived through a hurricane and its aftermath, you really don't know what it is like.  The TV coverage and all the pictures of the wind damage and high water show a lot, but until you've been there and experienced it first hand, you really can't imagine the trauma.  Our area was hit by Hurricane Ike three years ago and by Hurricane Rita 6 years ago.  Rita hit about a month after the famed Katrina.  We personally did not suffer a great deal of damage from Rita.  But I can tell you that coming back to a town that had sustained extensive damage, had no water and no electricity, and a temperature of 100 degree that day, was overwhelming.  It really seemed like it would be months before we even had power again.  Since this is a wooded area there were trees down everywhere. I have to applaud the electric companies and all the workers who came from all over the nation to help.  They had our power restored in just a few days. It was still depressing and I can't even think how people felt that lost their homes or had extensive damage from a tree falling through the roof.  On the way home, we saw one place that was flying a flag with a smiley face on it.  Sort of a bright spot of optimism there. 

       I hate to say it, but our area is still in some ways recovering from Rita and especially from Ike.  Our town did not suffer as much from Ike, and everyone, individuals and government planners, seemed better prepared.  That's what experience does for you!  Ike was much worse in the coastal areas south and east of us due to the tidal surge and the winds from Ike were worse to the west of us where the eye hit. But it was still a bad experience here. Like Irene, Ike blew long and hard.  It took forever to move over us, it seemed. So, I have real empathy for those who experienced the worse of Irene this weekend.  I pray they will make a quick recovery. I know it will affect their lives for a long, long time. 

Our ESN scavenger hunt this week is about hurricane Irene and wind and water.  I tried to find some good things pertaining to wind and water. 

I found  this novel with Wind in the title at Mystery Lane Books. It might be a good read if you can find a sunlit place to read while the electricity is off.  Without electricity, internet, or telephone we discovered a lot of things to do. It is possible.  The board games come out, the handcrafts that have been untouched for years......

                                                                     

                                                                                                  Black Wind: A Dirk Pitt Novel

At Barb's Bargains I found this elegant wind chime and the Buddha fountain. 

Two things that use wind and water to help you relax.  Barb's Bargains has a good selection of fountains.

Beautiful Wind Chimes

Soothing Buddha Fountain

And lastly, to remind us of the beautiful days to come after the storm. I found this jigsaw puzzle from Eccentric Thrifter.  Something else to pass the time during and after the storm. And a good reminder of the rainbow promise God gave to Noah.

After the Rain Jigsaw Puzzle

As usual, shop ESN for whatever you are needing. Membership is open to shoppers as well as ecrater store owners.   Also, be sure and stop by my store: Hazel's HodgePodge.

Cookie Jars

If I had room to display things, I would collect so many different objects. One of them would be cookie jars. It is amazing to me how many different cookie jars there are. You can find a cookie jar for almost any theme or decor. Right now at Hazel's HodgePodge we have three cookie jars listed.

One I like so much is the Susan Winget Apple Basket Cookie Jar.  The apples are so real looking and it is in perfect condition. It is one I would keep for my collection--if I had room to collect and display it properly.
I have found some other Susan Winget creations over the years and been very impressed with her style and artistry. Here is a link to Susan Winget's Art Studio. This is such a friendly, home-y site. It is nice to "get to know" the artist like this.
Next we turn to an older cookie jar. It is a vintage lunch box.

Also in perfect condition.  It MAY be a McCoy. A McCoy collector would know for sure..
Lastly I have another vintage cookie jar in the shape of a Wheat Sheaf

This cute smaller cookie jar is also in very good condition. Something really different for the cookie jar collector or imagine it in your kitchen as an accent  in shades of yellow.
Keep shopping at Hazel's HodgePodge.  I will keep collecting pretty, rare, and unusual items to pass on to you the customer. We are careful to describe our items in detail and pack them carefully to insure they get to you safely.

School Days, School Days..Dear Old Golden Rule Days...

Well, school started in our area Monday for the most part.  We used to start school after Labor Day and it always seemed like fall was in the air.  We chose fall plaids and prints for our school dresses. Everyone had to put their new school shoes on after a whole summer of going barefoot and the boys had new stiff blue jeans and fall shirts.  Getting new clothes, shoes, school supplies, and a new lunch kit complete with Thermos bottle and a new book "satchel" was so exciting.  We could hardly wait for the first day of school to wear the new clothes and carry our new items to school. We often sang snippets of the old song "School Days" as we walked to school. 

School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick 

You can see the rest of the song Here.  I don't remember singing any but the first part and knew it was old, just not how old. 1907, Wow!

The ESN scavenger hunt this week is "Back to School"  I have always had a fascination with life in the 1800's.  I   tell my kids that in my previous life, I was a pioneer settling the American West. I don't really believe that, but my not too distant ancestors on my dad's side were pioneer settlers in Texas and my mother's family tree springs from Germany.  Those people settled in South Texas. Anyway, I am intrigued with the concept of the one room school house,  the McGuffey's Readers, the BlueBack speller and when I found this Stoddard's Practical Arithmetic at Comyc Gyrl Collectibles, I just had to include it. 

Antique Stoddard's Arithmetic

Now, I am a private tutor.  I love working with the students one-on-one.  I am always looking for something that is fun but basic. This Everyday Mathmatics workbook from Eccentric Thrifter just might have some pages that I could use.

Everyday Mathematics

And this book "100 words every high school freshman should know" from Bargain Express, looks like some thing to recommend for every high school freshman as a must have reference book

100 Words

Even though school rooms have changed over the years--From slates to blackboards to green chalkboards to dry erase (white)boards, from one room schools to huge school facilities, from simple books that may have been shared or passed down from student to student to overhead projectors to computers and kindles, from carrying lunch in a syrup bucket to lunch kits with Thermoses to hot lunch served at school each day, and many other changes--the basics are still the same:  Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (or Math) and how to get along with your classmates and follow the rules. 

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Be sure to shop the stores at ESN for whatever you are looking for--for back to school, up coming holidays, home decor, good books, jewelry, clothes, toys, what-have-you.  You'll be glad you did!

Pink and Green Jewelry

The ESN scavenger hunt this week has been for pink and green.  Pink and green are both pretty colors and are found together in nature a great deal as in pink flowers of all types and shades with green leaves. I decided to look for jewelry in shades of pink and green. I found jewelry of all sorts: necklaces, bracelets, earrings and so on.  I also found a variety of styles.  As usual, there is something for everyone on the eCrater stores of ESN.
I found some lovely, summery jewelry in both pink and green.

Beach Cat's Bargains had this beautiful Necklace & Earrings: Crystal Rhinestone Beads with Peidot Green Acrylic Flowers

See this Necklace and Earrings HERE

Next I found this lovely pair of lime green earrings at What Not Gems. They are also available in other colors including pink.

Available HERE

On the pink side, I found this cute little brooch pin at Bargain Express.

Schoolhouse brooch pin 

Lastly I found this pretty Ancient Dreams cameo necklace by Vicky Viscount at Twilight's Slumber.

Purchase it HERE

It's always fun to look through the items at ESN.  You never know what you might find.

Christmas in August!

What a good time to start (or finish) shopping for Christmas!  If funds are low, it would be a good idea to start now picking up a gift each week (or each payday) so it won't all come out at once.  When I was a kid, our local bank had a Christmas Club.  You opened a Christmas Club account in January and added a bit to it each week through the year. When December arrived, you had your money to go Christmas shopping.  Seems like a good idea to me. Almost as good as buying things all through the year and setting them back.  Maybe better if you tend to forget where you put the things or what you already got for who--Or if getting out in the last minute crowds and shopping is part of your Christmas ritual. Some people--like me--thrive on last minute activities.

For you Born Organized, get-it-done-early people, take a look at the ESN stores for ideas for those on your gift list. There's a big variety of things to choose from.  You can have your shopping done in no time from the comfort of your home.

To me, a big part of Christmas is decorating the house and tree and just getting as much of the family together as possible sometime during the Holiday Season.  I decided to shop ESN this week for "decorations" to add to my collection of tree trimmings and ornaments.

Here's only few of the items that I found.

This ornament from Carolina Bluelady would fit right in with my collection of ornaments. I already have a lot of musical instrument ornaments.  Some of them are old and sentimental; some we got to decorate a large tree in the music store one year. 

Buy this 1984 Avon collectible HERE.

And here is something, I really need.  A tree topper from Eccentric Thrifter. After 40 something years my precious Angel tree topper finally became unusable last year. This one is really pretty.

See more details HERE.

This pixie ornament from ComycGyrl Collectibles would be right at home on my tree. I have so many different and unusual ornaments.

Purchase him HERE.

There are so many more ornaments and decorator items on ESN.  Take a look for yourself and you'll be sure to find something you like for your home or tree for Christmas.

What Can You Find at a Garage Sale?

What can you find at a garage sale? Well, you might find anything you are looking for. One can find furniture, clothing, household items, toys, gadgets, just almost anything.  Sometimes, you even find things you aren't expecting.  We have all seen episodes of "Antiques Road Show" where people picked up something at a garage sale for little of nothing to find out it is now a quite valuable item.  Sometimes they even get an item that was being thrown away or the owner doesn't care about it and gives it to them. 

I should be so lucky!  Maybe you need to know what to look for???

We go to garage sales almost every weekend.  Mostly we look for band instruments, i.e. horns that hubby can repair and resell here at the music store, Mr. Bandman Music. We also find a lot of things that we can use ourselves such as chairs, linens, small kitchen items, some clothes, etc. Then I look for dishes and decorator items and collectibles for the HodgePodge.--Hazel's HodgePodge, my on-line store.  I have collected boxes and boxes of things for re-sale. In fact, I don't think I even remember all the things I do have in these boxes. 

One interesting item I found some time ago is an old leather purse or, as they said back in the day, "pocket book."  I bought the purse only to find it contained an old "credit card" dated 1945.  This is from World War II times! It is not a credit card as we know credit cards today. In fact, I have not been able to find out anything more about it than what it says on it.  I assume that since it is written in English, and we are in East Texas that the Paris named on the card is Paris, Texas.

If someone collects WWII items, this is probably a real steal  at less than $10.  If you are a WWII buff and know something else about this card, I would be pleased to read your comments below. 

You can see listing and purchase HERE

Block Party, Reunion, or Dinner on the Grounds

The ESN scavenger hunt this week has to do with Block Parties.  Well, we in small town America don't have much experience with Block Parties. We are more familiar with Family Reunions and  Pot Luck Dinners--or as some would say "Dinner on the Grounds" after Sunday Services. Along with Block Parties, these are occasions for people to get together and enjoy food and fellowship. The food is always outstanding since everyone brings their best carry along dish--and there is always plenty to eat. I looked for items that would be useful for an outdoor barbeque, a Block Party, reunion, or Pot Luck Dinner. 

Here are a few of the things I found among the ESN scavenger hunter stores:

You always need salt and pepper shakers on the tables and these plastic ones from ComycGyrl Collectibles fill the bill. They are available in green or blue. Maybe use both sets on two different tables? ComycGyrl has lots of collectible salt and pepper shakers.

Great deal at ComycGyrl Collectibles.

What could be cooler than this Avon basket to hold the silverware on your serving table?  CarolinaBlueLady has so many vintage Avon items. This is only one.

Available from Carolina BlueLady

Eccentric Thrifter solves the problem of what to wear to the Block Party or Reunion with these floral capris.
She has a big selection of casual clothing.

Listed by Eccentric Thrifter

As usual there is no shortage of whatever you might be looking for in the ESN stores.

Happy shopping!  And Happy Eating at your next big "get together" whether it be with neighbors at a Block Party, relatives at a reunion, or Church Family at a potluck dinner.

Also, don't forget to check out our store:  Hazel's HodgePodge.