Uncanny Finds - Hall-Owl-een Edition

 As I mentioned in a previous post, it's been a lean year for sales, so I have to stretch the definition of "Halloween" a little.  But I've always associated owls with Halloween, so hopefully I'm not stretching too much.

I picked up this can of Red Owl Ground Cloves at a garage sale a few weeks ago.  They had an odd assortment for a private sale, mostly tools and utilitarian items, and the last thing I expected to find was a vintage can.  This one dates from 1948.

Two Heads are Better than...Five?

This purple two-headed dragon from Imperial toys reminded of Tiamat from Dungeons & Dragons, minus a few heads, maybe. Yes, I'm a nerd.

Spook House -- Digging through a Load of Sheet...Music

Sheet music is something I sometimes find myself thumbing through at estate sales.  If there's a piano or organ in the home, you can guarantee there's a huge stack of sheet music gathering dust (or mold) somewhere.

I say "sometimes I find myself thumbing through" because usually the stack is so daunting, I pass on it. But occasionally I will look to see if there are any interesting covers.  

While this piece isn't quite a thrilling as last year's "Carbarlick Acid Rag", it's a fun cover with cute lyrics.  From 1977, it's "Spook House".

Things are dark and hard to see, stumbling all around.

Creepy, crawly things are here lying on the ground.

Spider webs and icky stuff hanging in the air.

I sure hope that I don't get any in my hair!

Spooky goblins, ghosts and things making shrieks and moans.

Skeletons and monsters peer up from piles of bones.

Miss Match -- A Horror Story

Today's Garage Sale Find may be on the extreme periphery of Halloween, but all dolls are haunted, right?

This 1970's "Miss Match" comes from the fine folks at Uneeda.

 

She's soft, cuddly and floppy.  Like a line torn from a Dolly Parton song, Miss Match wears her coat of many colors proudly.

Halloween 2020 -- It's My Bag, Baby, and Nothing's Gonna Stop Me!

That's right, it's that time of year again. And despite what 2020 has thrown at us, Halloween WILL go on.

And that means that the Countdown to Halloween will happen once more.

For the seventh year in a row, I've joined this jolly band of bloggers to focus all of our blogging powers toward Halloween.  Together, we can win this and #SAVEHALLOWEEN!

And as is the norm (AND NOT THE NEW NORM!), my first offering this season is a bag.  Specifically, this Duro brand Trick or Treat bag (model PLTT-74A).  "PLTT" stands by "Plastic Trick or Treat". I'm assuming the 74-A is the year (1974).

An Ap-peeling Find

Seventeen years ago, I planted an apple tree next to my house with dreams of someday picking apples from my porch.

Over the years, the apples have suffered in a variety in ways all resulting in the absence of any edible apples come September.

There were droughts, hail, late Spring frosts, a complete absence of blossoms, and, most frequently, squirrels.  Lord, the squirrels.They would come in July and pick the tree clean of the young apples.

For reasons unknown, the squirrels around my house disappeared this year.  I suspect it has to do with a sewage backup that occurred in the creek behind my house, but that's purely speculation.  At any rate, it resulted in a bumper crop this year.

 

Between the Covers -- The House on the Cliff or A Boy on the Edge

I pick up a lot of old books at sales and occasionally I find something of interest inside, whether it be money, a 4-leaf clover, business card or even a written note. This 1940's edition of The Hardy Boys "The House on the Cliff" contained such a note.