gardenjunkpickergirls: Road Trip to Kansas

Inspired by the recent reality TV show Picker Sisters, we are fans of REAL picker shows. We relate to the thrill of finding something cheep. We love road trips and filling the truck with our unique finds. We love the reaction of your husband’s as we pull in the drive w/ junk. Unfortunately, Picker Sisters is like watching a train wreck. You know you should turn away, but something draws you to it. You try to yell at the TV hoping it will STOP, but they just keep heading straight into a disaster.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Road Trip to Kansas

On a recent road trip we hit Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Since we had my dog Bailey we had to find pet friendly hotels and even one of my favorite places to stay- the Uptown Theatre in Marceline Missouri. (Boyhood home of Walt Disney) Walt Disney modeled "Maine Street USA" in Disneyworld after his memories of Marceline. We even stumbled upon an auction in a small town where I actually use to work with the daughter of the mans things that were being sold. Yes it is a small world. We filled the truck and got a little dirty along the way.

This junk shop I have found many great things over the years, the inside is filled, but it is also fun to dig around out back. You might want to leave your high heels and short shorts at home for this one.

Good eats are always a must, it is fun to find diners that have been features on Diners Drive-in and Dives, like Charlie Parkers in Springfield Illinois.

Laura hopes to find us a mini trailer that we can fix up soon like this one- will save money and create new adventures.

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MO

I come from a long line of pickers. I learned from my mom, driving the station wagon around on garbage day looking for stuff others didn't want. She taught me how to search through old barns, and find the items everyone else missed. I was refinishing furniture and polishing silver at a young age, always looking for the diamond in the rough. Her passion grew into a fabulous business, but for me, I am still just a picker who makes a living more traditionally. Many of our trips stem from my business trips that Laura tags along on, or weekend adventures. Laura is more thrifty then I am, we are very different . . . I will always have time for picking, gardening and blogging. I have three blogs, none for money, just to share my interests and opinions. Click on my picture to get to my garden blog. There is a reason I do the driving, do not let Laura fool you- you do not want her to drive! Picking is hard work, not a glamorous Hollywood production. You can call us “the picker girls”, “garden junk picker girls” or “the REAL picker sisters”!

Laura

Picker, gardener, not that good of a driver. . . Is one of the "greenest" people you will ever meet. She uses a clothesline, saves everything, is still cooking with some of the pans we had in our college house in the 80's. It’s not about being trendy, it’s how she lives. . . . OK I need to speak for myself here . . . Mo is definitely the blogger, driver and boss. However, I need to clarify a few things in my bio. First and foremost, I am an excellent driver and have an almost clean record to prove it. Also, my job as co-pilot is equally as important. I am, after all, the navigator through unknown country roads; no GPS in the old pick-up for these gals! I also have to rummage in the cooler and prepare sophisticated hors d'oeuvres. Last, but not least, I'm in charge of tunes. If left up to Mo, all we would be listening to is satellite radio's all Grateful Dead station. Not trendy? Without a doubt. I actually started thrifting and picking to save money. I still do for that reason, but more importantly, I want my surroundings to be funky and meaningful, and am always up for an adventure with my "true picker" sister!

Fender Art - has a long connection to "junk"

No it is not a fender made into a chair, just a fender made into ART! DEFINITION: The Middle English word jonk, ancestor of junk, originally had a very specific meaning restricted to nautical terminology. First recorded in 1353, the word meant "an old cable or rope." On a sailing ship it made little sense to throw away useful material since considerable time might pass before one could get new supplies. Old cable was used in a variety of ways, for example, to make fenders, that is, material hung over the side of the ship to protect it from scraping other ships or wharves. Junk came to refer to this old cable as well. The big leap in meaning taken by the word seems to have occurred when junk was applied to discarded but useful material in general.