Collectors Online Mall Blog Spot

Link: http://www.collectorsonlinemall.com

This month's best finds

Old Candelabra Mirror from the Grand Opera House in Bethlehem PA

Gottlieb El Dorado Pinball Machine

United Gypsy Shuffle Alley Shuffle Board Machine

1930s Frederics Permanent Wave Machine

1930s Frederic Vaporizer Hair Treatment Machine

Theodore Koch Antique Barber Chair

Four antique steamer trunks

Hoosier cabinet (will be in mall soon)

Johnny Depp Pirates of the Carribean talking action figure (because I love Johnny Depp) So I'm not selling this one!

Lot of Royal Doulton Collectible Figurines

Unter Weiss Lace Ladies Figurines

Lot of WWII German Army Memorabilia, Uniforms, American and German Patches

Link: http://www.collectorsonlinemall.com/train_man49

Well someone's happy! Just when our train inventory was going down, hubby got a call from a contact he met a year ago. Seems the man had an attic full of trains he wanted to sell. We made a reasonably deal and now they're ours! Yeah!

Best of all many are mint in the box. This should keep us busy for a while. If you want to see them, check out our store at Collectors Online Mall Postwar N More Model Trains Here's a fun one, but not the most expensive:

Buying and selling antiques and collectibles is our trade and getting them at the best price we can is the game. Of all the things we search for, Model Trains - especially postwar Lionel trains - are my husband's favorites. He's made a great many contacts in this area and also roams the countryside attending auctions and estate sales in search of the infamous RARE train! I guess boys will be boys, and girls will spend lots of time learning about trains so they can type descriptions that make some sort of sense.

While I mention his devotion to the Lionel brand, we are in no short supply of other brands, like Marx and American Flyer. Of course there are plenty of newer models - you tend to buy the old and new together. While we love getting mint in the box trains, that's a rarity so hubby gets to play with the out of the box older trains, since he has to check them out before selling anyway. Every day's like Christmas around here with trains circling, whistles blowing and small streams of smoke filling the air.

There is a sad part to every story, and that's his face when the trains are bubblewrapped and boxed up for mailing. It's like taking toys away from a little boy...

After my diatrab on washing dishes with baking soda you shouldn't be surprised to find that it's one of my basic cleaners for many antiques. Gentle, yet slightly abrasive, it's perfect for removing tarnish from silver. This provides a huge savings over silver polish, is less damaging to the silver and nontoxic to the user.

Another thing we clean often are old model trains. Baking soda will clean smudges off the trains, but on operating locomotives and cars that you can't rinse it's not a good idea, as baking soda leaves a white film if not completely rinsed off. Therefore, we stick to a dab of toothpaste that that can be easily wiped off.

Some metals can be cleared of oxidation by soaking in lemon juice and water. Just keep checking, the lemon juice can take away the shine from metal. Ironic, since it provides such a nice shine on wood.

For old fabrics like doll clothes we avoid washing unless absolutely necessary. When we have to, very careful hand washing in ivory snow or woolite, and rinsing extremly well is in order. Do not machine wash; these fabrics can easily turn to shreds. Do not let any label soak in water because it will fade.

As I fill up an old parmesan cheese container with baking soda, I realize that my love of antiques and anything old has heightened my awareness of just how much better the old days seemed.

There wasn't as much to choose from at the supermarket, so you kind of got into a meal schedule, knew what you wanted, and got in and out quickly. Our moms relied on the basics.

They didn't grow up with TV commercials touting, "Use me! I'm more powerful, cleaner, quicker, tastier, less fattening, More Convenient!" Yet somehow, our homes were run smoothly, kept clean, and there was always good food on the table.

Then came a move toward convenience we all jumped on it. Fast food, a different cleanser for every room and piece of furniture, non-stick cooking utensils, everything preserved in plastic. Now, after over 50 years of that - we find out it's all not good for us and we're ruining the earth.

So here we are looking to the past for answers. The baking soda in the cheese container? That's what I do my dishes with now. It cleans wonderfully and is real easy to rinse off since there's no soap involved. I can brush my teeth with the same baking soda, clean my glass stove top of any stuck on grease, clean my counters, mop the floor (and clean the mop) and even brush my teeth with it! No toxic chemicals down the drain - in fact, it's good for the drains. What more could you want!

Baking soda might not cure all the worlds ills, but it's a start - and it's cheap. That's the idea of this section of the blog - going green, being thrifty and getting back to basics.

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