Score of the Summer

   This post is getting a bit out of date. The score of the summer took place a few weeks ago, before my demon neighbors started their...stuff. But it really deserves mention, because I may not get so excited about a find the rest of the year!
  A few weeks ago I had a short yard saling weekend because I spent Saturday with my friend Lori. I only went to three sales that weekend and one of them was the same place twice,BUT I made what will probably turn out to be the score of the summer. Technically my husband made it. That Friday morning I went to one sale, an estate sale I had seen the ad for the night before. I got some great stuff for great prices.

  

    
The Byers Choice Fence was $4, the Byers clock was $5, and the Byers fireplace,(My favourite!) was the best yet: $2! The Byers dogs were $1 apiece I think, and the Kindle guy was about $2.

  I also got some great stuff that will work great in my 1/6 doll house,especially the nautical bedroom I'm planning for the boys

  In the end they didn't actually charge me the real total, so the stuff was even cheaper! Plus they gave me the crate I carried my stuff in! Emma has been wanting one for her bike, so that works out great.
  They were telling people that everything would be half price on Saturday so before heading to Lori's I went back on Saturday morning to see if I could get some of the things I didn't want to pay so much for on Friday. My husband went with me that time, so we split up. I headed for the room with all the paper doll books, and the room with the beautiful Victorian celluloid and velvet photo album (with pictures!) that I showed in my basement flooding post,and the pretty antique lady print. The paper doll books and the print were gone, but the photo album was still there! Yeah!
    I also got a nesting doll for Ivy's collection, and some very pretty dishes. I got a really cute vintage porcelain baby bowl.I love antique children's cups and dishes.

  But while I was doing that Ken, who had gone down to the basement first, came into the room with only two things in his hand---but what a thing!! I nearly exploded. He had a Paddington, which didn't interest me,and Larry the Lion! A GORGEOUS Mattel Larry the Lion!

My new Larry!

Larry #2

  Larry is one of those things I have been after since I was a kid. He was on every Christmas and birthday list for I don't know how long. I think I was so obsessed with him because he was not only cute and unique looking, but he was on one of the TV screens included in the TV in our Barbie Dreamhouse. You can watch the original TV commercail for Larry HERE. (And you might recognize kid actors Pamlyn Ferdin, who was later on "Lassie",and Johnny Whitaker,who was Jody on "Family Affair".
 Larry is a Mattel Animal Yakker. 

From a 1965 ad for Animal Yakkers and Mattel talking dolls.

He's a pull string toy, and his mouth actually moves when he talks. 

Other Animal Yakkers were Crackers the Parrot,and Chester O'Chimp.

 He's really expensive, so I figured I would never get one.Then Ken actually got me one online years ago. I was glad to have a Larry, even if he was grungy and had no eyes.  He actually worked, and I thought I could try and rehabilitate him. But the kids and I were playing with him and his string broke, thereby silencing him forever. He was so grungy he wasn't worth having repaired.
  Then a few years later I found a nice Larry online for a really cheap price because they weren't calling him Larry the Lion. I think he was just listed as 'talking lion' or something. I don't remember how much he was, but it was affordable. Probably about $10.00.He was nice, missing a few partial whiskers, but clean and he worked and had eyes!

  I left him in his mailing box until I got a glass case to put him in. But when Ken walked in with Today's Larry he put Affordable Larry to shame! This new Larry is super clean and has silky hair and ALL of his whiskers. (#2 does have more of a beard.) He also works. I think his head may be a little droopier than Larry #2's. Ironically, #2 and #3 both have droopy heads, while #1 stands up straight and tall. I may make the poor guy some eyes after all.
   

As you can see, both #2 and #3 need to have their heads propped up.

  I'm keeping both of them. (Actually all three. Who has the heart to get rid of Larry #1, the poor blind mute. He was the answer to a life long yearning, after all.) And I can't believe not only that I hadn't found Larry the day before when I was there, but that he was STILL THERE! I did dig around a little in the top layer of the stuffed toy tub, but it looked like new stuff and I didn't feel like digging deeper. DUH! Ok, Ken found Larry, but he left behind this vintage Gund Pooh and this cute Knickerbocker Animals of Distinction musical lamb.

  

Ok, and here's another amazing part. Larry was half price, so he was...wait for it....50 CENTS!! Sometimes I dream stuff like this!! I might as well quit for the summer because if I find anything better than this Larry this summer I think I'll keel over.Oh, and they didn't charge for everything Saturday either, and they gave me one big tub, one under bed tub,and a smaller tub, all with lids. I love it when I get tubs.
  And the other garage sale I went to? I got a Mr. Peanut salt shaker for free, and a beautiful vintage mirror with an etched bird of paradise for $5.

   Now if I can just figure out where I can hang the mirror without making my plaster walls come down.