Change is in the Air!

The times they are a changing!

Things have been really crazy here the last 2 or 3 weeks.  First of all, we decided to move Mr. Bandman Music to a new location.  We found a really neat smaller building downtown just 2 doors north of the Pines theater.  The address is 350 N. 4th St.  It is just a fraction of a mile down the street from our present location.  We hope to concentrate more on band instrument repair, along with having the accessories for band instruments--reeds,oils,etc. and guitar strings and picks.  

We've been greatly impressed with the new Ventura guitars and plan to keep a few new acoustic guitars in stock, as well as an occasional used guitar.  We can also order some super great violins from the same company that makes the Ventura guitars.  They are highly recommended.  Our catalog order department will allow you to purchase all sorts of guitars, amps, drum sets, what have you. 

We will continue to have a fantastic rental-purchase plan on school band instruments as an affiliate of NEMC.  We have been an NEMC affiliate almost as long as we have been in business.  They have an outstanding rental-purchase program that is a 0 interest plan.  You can check out them out at www.nemc.com.  You can even rent an instrument on line, and we we will deliver it to your child's school in our area.  We will also have used band instruments for sale.  You will be happy to know that all of our  used band instruments have been through our shop and have a 90 day warranty.  They are all well known name brand band instruments, too.

We are excited to be moving. The new building is better suited to our needs, and we look forward to seeing our area customers there real soon. We plan on being open for business there later this week--Saturday, Sept. 1 for sure.

The second big change is Hazel's HodgePodge is no more.  We had a big garage sale in preparation for our move.  A man came along and agreed to buy all of my HodgePodge inventory.  I may have an item or two or three left around to sell,but for the most part, I am out of business.  It really leaves a hollow here--both in the need to try to list and sell all that "stuff" and the physical presence of all those boxes to move and store.  I will definitely have more time for other projects and endeavors. As soon as we complete the Mr. Bandman Music move, I will be busy removing everything pertaining to Hazel's HodgePodge from the internet.

We have had a few set backs with health issues the past couple of weeks, but we are still excited over the move and confident that the "winds of change" will blow nothing but good our way.

Add Some Sunshine--and Some Spice-- to Your Table

Last week on the ESN scavenger hunt we were looking for things about dining.  I am slower than slow, and just now looking through my fellow scavenger hunter's stores for dining related items. I decided to also find some things that might also relate to this week's subject of smiles.

The first item I found was at Bargain Express.  I always like bright yellow objects. Especially on  a dreary or cloudy day, something yellow makes me smile and seems like a little spot of sunshine.

Add some sunshine to your table with this pair of cups and saucers
from Bargain Express

Next I came across this cute set from Le Petit Marche.  These chili peppers could add a bright spot to your table and bring a smile to the faces of your guests.

Salt, Pepper, and Oil are perfect for Tex-Mex or Southwest Dining

Add to your dining experience and put a smile on your face with items from the ESN stores.

What Makes You Smile?

The scavenger hunt on ESN this week is for a sale item that has to do with smiling.  I like to think that everything I have listed at Hazel's HodgePodge, and even all the stuff I have collected in boxes to list, will bring a smile to someone's face.  We hope that each and every one of our items will be "a treasure to brighten someone's day",when they find the piece to complete their collection , a replacement for the broken item, something that brings back good memories, or just the right finishing touch for their new or retro decor.

What makes you smile?  Sometimes it's hearing something slightly funny or cute.  Sometimes it's getting a gift or having someone think of you or do something special for you.  Sometimes it's finding something special you are looking for, or even remembering good times from the past, or anticipating good times to come.

As a teenager, I enjoyed walking down Houston St. in downtown San Antonio (where everyone went to shop before the days of shopping malls) and smiling at the people I passed.  It was good to see them smile back.  This holds true today. Going through Wal-Mart, or anywhere you meet people, even if only in passing, try sharing a smile with them.

By way of reminscing--there was a hatter somewhere along Houston Street back then who had a mirror placed strategically above the sidewalk so you saw yourself coming.  It read : "look at your hat, everyone else does."  It could have said, look at your smile, or attitude; everyone else does.

Here are two of my items for sale,that share a smile or at least a weird facial expression.

Does Red have a crooked smile...or what?
See and buy this M&M candy jar HERE.

Ernie has a happy smile on his way to your birthday party with a gift.
Buy this cake pan HERE for that special party.

Look through the offerings at Hazel's HodgePodge and the other vendors at ESN to find something that will make you smile--"a treasure to brighten your day".  You can be sure that your purchase will bring a smile to the seller's face, as well as making you smile when your package arrives.

Retro Dining

The scavenger hunt on ESN last week was for things related to dining.  This a good subject for someone with a store like Hazel's HodgePodge where we have all kinds of dishes,china,glassware, and also cookbooks, with more and more waiting to be listed.  I am just slow as usual about getting my blog together.

I recently acquired some FireKing cups and saucers.  These made me think of some of the dishes we had when I was a kid.  Of course we all sat down at the kitchen table for supper every evening.  We ate breakfast and lunch at the same kitchen table which was covered with oil cloth which was periodically replaced with a new piece from the neighborhood dime store.  Winn's was a south central Texas 5 and dime which had stores in the various neighborhood like the Dollar stores do today. Their slogan was: "Save a trip to town; shop at Winn's."  I even clerked at a Winn"s store while in high school, fulfilling on of my early ambitions.

Some other things we used for everyday meals was a set of various colored aluminum tumblers.  The ones we used most were a set of 4 shorter ones.  But Mama accumulated a set of 8 taller tumblers and a pitcher from the Borden's Milkman.  I am not sure if these were free or reduced price with the milk we bought several times a week.  I do remember the home delivery of  milk and ice--back when we had a real "ice box".
I remember getting green jade-ite and gold peach lustre fire-king dishes out of the oatmeal.  We had fire-king coffee cups and saucers and cereal bowls,  For Sunday dinner at Grandma's we set the round table in the dining room more formally and used the "good" dishes, which I have since learned were the Mildred pattern and came from the Kress store downtown.  Grandma and Mama both had some of these dishes.

Later Mama got dishes in the green Old Curiosity Shop pattern at the HEB grocery.  HEB, pronounced as initials aitch, e, bee, is a south Texas company.  You got pieces each week with your groceries, and both Mama and my aunt collected them for Mama.  My youngest daughter has these dishes today, and she has even found pieces to add to the set.  As even more time passed and I got married, Mama got me  a set of Onieda stainless steel flatware.  You might guess that in the early 1960's we got it with trading stamps.  I know S& H green stamps were popular across the country, and we got S & H green stamps some places we shopped--notably Piggly Wiggly, but the "silverware" was bought with Texas Gold Stamps from HEB.  There was even a Texas Gold Stamp Center attached to the HEB store in our neighborhood.  We got a lot of things with Texas Gold and S&H Green stamps.

The Fire-King cup and saucer that started these remembrances.
See and buy them here.

Check out our glassware at Hazel's HodgePodge to see more pieces of Fire-King.  Also take a look at ESN   for more items to enhance your dining experience.