New Piece of Fire King..........

This book has been my constant companion since recieving it as a gift at Christmas. It is called: Anchor Hocking's Fire King Identification and Value guide Third Edition....

If you have an interest in a certain collectable, its great to have a book to give you the history, identification and values by your side!!!

Todays page was opened at Anniversary Rose 1964-1965....



Obviously they were manufactured with a rose decal and gold trim. The book states they were only manufactured for two years and so are in short supply.

My mum found me this Creamer from a little Op Shop in Inverleigh, it is alittle worn but still has the gold trim which is great.

I love finding new pieces with designs that I have not found previously. If I find and buy one piece then I usually end up with a few pieces of the same design.....

The book is great to identify which design is what and values the pieces in US dollars.....

I love Fire King and am currently filling my second cabinet in my Dining room with more Fire King........

My love....???

My love is my family... Families come in many forms for us "The Essess" here is our family... Sophie will shortly turn 13! Silky Terrier. She is Curlypops prodigal sons mother! Here she is in her bed, a kids couch from the Op shop that I got for $2. And a donut bed and towel. She sleeps next to me everynight close to the heater... SHe has the cataracts on her eyes and recently began going deaf!

Shelby will be 3 years old in August, black Labrador asleep on her Foldup Trundle bed scored at a Garage Sale for $4.00.... Shes having her afternoon sleep with Snowball and her Teddy Bear..

Snowball is Mr Essess little boy kitteh, he is 5 months old and seems to think that the Labrador is his mother.....

This is my 5 month old kitteh Sparkles... Sleeping.. We went to get one kitten and came home with two because Mr S decided that they would need a friend to play with??

Another photo of Sophie with longer hair, she usually has a haircut in summer to keep her cool...

Shelby with one of her many Teddy Bears in her mouth! I buy a few from the Op Shop when they are cheap so that her and her little friend Mr Socket can play tug of war, usually meaning the Bear becomes demolished..?

My little man Mr Socket turned two on New Years Eve, he is a Chihuahua X Jack Russell...

I went and picked him out myself. Mr S thought I was nutts getting a third dog but Shelby being young needed a young dog to play with.

Mr Socket had bad teeth and an overbite so I took him home fearing no one would want him. His overbite grew out and he has crooked teeth just like me! He is somewhat sooky but gets quite grumpy when moving him whilst he is tired.

We put it down to Little Dog Syndrome.....

Who forms your family? Let me know!

Lounge Room Make Over/Retro Style.................

You would have read from my last post that I had a special trip to make saturday morning. Mr S and myself took the van to a Monster Garage Sale......We bought quite a few items but I have been looking for a couch/fold out bed similar to one I owned in my early twenties... I found this couch at the Garage Sale for $10.00.................................................

Close up picture of the white vinyl pattern...................................

MAKE OVER TIME.............

My sister Curlypops has been advising me for quite a while to change our front room. When we first bought this house this room was our lounge room but now we use the extension at the back of the house as the loungeroom......

We set up the front room as a sitting room with an extra tv......

But guess what? We never use this room....

Cool coloured blue walls, with a fireplace and mantle that I love. Also love the old mirror that came with the house.......

So today I decided my new kittehs(retro cats) needed a new home...........

I bought this pair at The MAryborough Railway Station Antique Fair for $15 a few months ago!

I love the orange colour as it particularly suits my house.......

$10 Sofa/couch in the corner for any visitors, just need an orange throw rug/quilt to pop over the couch to break up the colour of the couch to the wall....

Moved our dining setting (Mr Esssess great grandfathers originally, when he passed we inherited it) so apart from looking great it has sentimental value for us!

So now the front room has become the dining room, and a place to show my Fire King collectibles in cabinets.....

I think it looks alot better.....

Next we may remove the carpet and stain and varnish the Hardwood floors, but that may happen after winter.

The carpet helps keep the house warm!

Thanks to Curlypops for her advise!

Next may be the kitchen, I am on the look out for a work bench to use in the middle of the room so I can surround it with my collection of retro stools.................................

The Essess Op Shopping Adventures across country Victoria..

Mr S and myself went on a little road trip, first stop Beaufort, second stop Ararat and last stop Stawell............................ First my favourite Op Shop purchase for the day was this great Orange Cake Platter with Plastic Lid that was in the Bargain Bin for .50c................

Another purchase was $2! This little duck will be going to live with my mum, perfect for her collecting fresh eggs from her chickens.............................

Some Vintage Table Cloths that will be rehomed to Curlypops, I am sure they will make great panels for handbags or something crafty...

We took the Transit VAn luckily because I found a great cabinet to store some of my collectibles.

Mr S purchased some magazines and waited in the van while I shopped, perfect way to get your husbands to join you shopping..

We drove past the Old J Ward Jail for the criminally insane! Entry was $14 for adults, so next time we will make time for a tour. The old Bluestone building was amazing...

The front of J Ward.........

I am guessing the van entry to J Ward to deliver inmates....

Whilst in Beaufort I came across this shop "Beaufort Keepsakes".

Inside was craft supplies and lots of handmade items, quilts, handpainted plates etc..

Also another craft shop in town but ran out of time to check it all out!

Its a nice drive from Clunes along the Western Highway towards the Grampians and well worth a day trip!

Beaufort has one Op Shop,m Ararat has 5 Oppys and Stawell had three that I found although the St Patricks recycle shop in Stawell closed at 2pm so we missed it!

Thanks for a lovely day out Mr S...................

P.S. I am very excited about our trip tomorrow morning, can't tell you too much but I have high hopes of finding some bargains.... Stay Tuned.................