gardenjunkpickergirls: Antique Archeology

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.

Showing posts with label Antique Archeology. Show all posts

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Alma makes it to its 4th state

Well summer wasn't going to be complete until Mo and I had a road trip. This was our first trip without her hubby along to trouble shoot. I did take my 16 year old son Jack, who is pretty handy. The destination, Davenport Iowa and the West Lake Campground. We managed to get a pull through site, thus eliminating having to back up the Alma (still a challenge). It was a beautiful site and all was well until we discovered that we couldn't get the hitch off....One of our campground hosts who was all of five feet zero, came over, bounced on the truck and got it loose. Problem solved!!

Jack ended up being a trooper..shopping and all.

After setting up camp, we headed over to LeClaire Iowa to see the actual American Pickers store, Antique Archeology. These guys are our inspiration, though we "pick" much different items. Alas, Mike and Frank were not around, but we did see Danielle who has a shop of her own next door. Her stuff was way more our style, very fun and girly-ish.

Danielle's store "4 Miles 2 Memphis", named after her two sons.

The photos are deceiving- a block from the Mississippi and in town.

After shopping, we headed to the country music festival Heartland Jam, where Mo's daughter was working. We heard some great music from Justin Moore and Jack was very pleased with the performances. That made it all worthwhile....nothing like a sulky teenager.

On our way home we stopped in Rock Falls, IL to see my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Art and cousin Craig. They got a chance to check out the Alma and did an outstanding job of pretending to be impressed...just kidding. They really got a kick out of it.

A one night road trip does not nearly satisfy me, so we already planning our next excellent adventure!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Washing the Alma

Well Alma needed a bath before the paint job, so that is what Johnny and I did this morning.

I used a medium bristle brush and some dirtex. After scrubbing we power rinsed it.

We came away with 5 large buckets of dirty water.

The end result? She pretty much looks the same as before. Oh well... I am confident that when we paint, it will adhere better because she is much cleaner!! We are planning our 2nd trip this weekend to Davenport Iowa, Stopping by Antique Archeology "First hand view of the American Pickers Store". Can't wait- this time no Scott so we are hoping for a pull through site or we may be in trouble!

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.