Monday, November 18, 2013

silverstuddedboots

Who wears black high heeled silver studded boots to a church fair?
It was a first for me to see such a site at a church hall. 
Does she know any church people? Did she have a date afterwords?
I really don't know.  What I do know is that I think she was following us that day.
Everywhere we went, studded boot lady was there.
Out of the corner of my eye as I was looking under the tables I would get a glimpse of the shiny black silver studded boots! 
Right behind me, right next to me.  In may way at all times. Those boots blinding my vision of white elephant finds.
I felt fearful at one point as she charged toward me to get a closer look at the jewelry tray.
Yikes, slow down lady, there's no gold in there!
I had never seen her before at any fair... she stood out from the crowd of ladies in their festive holiday sweaters, their red and green clothing or your run of the mill fleece vest, turtleneck shirt and jeans!
She and her friend stood at the table, with their phones in hand researching a print they had found.
Take the print and move away from the table...There are others around you in this cramped little area,
who want to look for stuff just as much as you do.
Church after church that day she was there.  The sense of panic was starting to come over me that I had to get to the next one first.  What if she found something and got it before me?
I am not new to doing this and I've come a long way.  I used to be the first one in line, my heart would be racing as I knew others were coveting my spot.  I had gotten into arguments with people who cut the line, others who would not hesitate to ask someone to let them sneak in before them. I was a nervous wreck!
After a few years of doing that I realized there is nothing in that church that I could buy that would change my life, so I stopped!
My way of thinking  is: If it's meant for me to have then it will be there when I get in, no matter what place in line I am.  Not everyone is looking for the same things that I am interested in, so I don't worry anymore.  I have days where I have great luck and I have had days where I find nothing. It's the thrill of the hunt that keeps me going to the fairs.  Someone's throw away stuff can be useful to someone else even if it's not something that can be resold for a profit.  You may need a cast iron pan but don't want to spend a crazy amount of money for a new one, they are better seasoned anyway, so used is better!
The church fair has changed since Ebay has come onto the scene, it gives people an outlet to sell their treasures and make money .
Who knows if churches will stop having White Elephant booths due to the crazy people who only go to the fair for the tag sale items. I support most churches that we go to.  I usually will buy raffle tickets or baked goods or eat lunch. inexpensivel. Most people don't support the church in any other way.  They don't buy their handcrafted items, their baked goods, jams & jellies, lunch items, raffle tickets etc..they are there for one thing only....Junk!
In the next few weeks as we head out to the fairs, I will keep an eye out for silver studded boot lady, and have to keep in mind that I can't get everything I want at the fairs as there are others who love the thrill of the hunt just as much as I do!
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Friday, November 15, 2013

church fairs along the shoreline of Connecticut

 Fair Listings(no rented tables to vendors)


St. Barnubus Church
44 Washington Avenue
North Haven, Ct.


weekend of November 9th

St. Francis Cabrini 57 Pond Hill Road
North Haven, Ct.


weekend of November 9th

St. Johns Episcopal church
3 Trumbull Place
on the green
North Haven, Ct. 06473  
weekend of the 9th



Our Lady Of Pompeii
355 Foxon Road
East Haven Ct. 06512


Weekend of November 16th 
St. Francis Church
397 Ferry Street
New Haven, Ct.
weekend of November 9th

St. Therese Church

105 Leetes Island Road
Branford, Ct. 06405
weekend of November 23rd

 

First Congregational Church
1009 Main Street
Branford, Ct.
weekend of November 23rd
                                                                                                                



Church of Christ Congregational192 Thimble Island Road
Branford, Ct 06405 
weekend of November 23rd

Trinity Episcopal church
1109 Main Street
Branford, Ct. 06405
weekend of the 23rd
St. Mary's Church
731 Main St
Branford, CT 06405
Fair is held at the school 
62 Cedar Street
Branford Ct. 06405
weekend of November 23rd  

St. Andrews Episcopal Church
283 Bridgeport Avenue
Milford, Ct. 06460
Weekend of November 16th

First Church of Saybrook
366 Main Street
Old Saybrook, Ct. 
weekend of November 16th
      

 Christ the Epiphany Church

39 Park Pl                                                                         
East Haven, CT 06512
weekend of November 16th





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Everyone has a story

An A Fair to remember?
Off I went to one of my local holiday fairs.
 Got up extra early to get in line as it has a great white elephant table that people line up for.
 I arrived about 20 minutes before the doors officially opened.  I told my sister I would meet her there.
 The doors this year were open for us to stand inside the hallway as it was a cold November morning.
  I opened the door to see about twenty people standing clumped together.
I had no where to go so I just stood by the door able to move if someone else came in the door.
I am very considerate of other people and their spots in line as I have learned people can be nasty!
There was an older woman in front of me with a "furry hat" on.
 A woman on the side of me with a vintage hand bag and a bandage on her face and another woman in her late 40's early 50's to the other side with a Massachusetts accent.
I hear someone say out loud "are you really going to stand there?" he said in a very nasty tone of voice. I replied "Excuse me"? You have a lot of nerve coming in the door and standing there, there's a line here you know?
Really? I told him.
I am sure whatever it is that you are looking for I am not looking for and whatever I am looking for you are not looking for! So relax!
I am by no means a mean person and I hate confrontations. All of a sudden the woman in front of me
(furry hat lady) told him to be quiet.  This is a church fair you know.  There is no line in here.
He continued on and on with his partner in crime a woman his age, they both had to be in their late sixties.
I told him I really am not cutting anyone in line, I am just trying to stay warm sir! You are more than welcome to go up the stairs in front of me when it opens.  He continued on in his nasty tone, that karma was going to get me.
Well thank goodness for the women around me! One of the woman on the side of me all of a sudden began crying.
She looked at the man and told him how dare you? What happened to church fairs? They used to be a nice place to go and spend a Saturday morning, now people like you have made them not nice to come to anymore.  She went on to say that her husband was home on the brink of dying and she needed to get out as she has been by his side for a few weeks.  This was an outing for her to keep her sanity and she had to deal with this jackass!
I could not believe what was happening around me! It was amazing how these woman stood up for me.I knew from they way they spoke that they have been through some things in their lives.  Things that I have been through that makes me tolerate people. 
I always tell my kids be tolerant of people as you don't know what is going on in their lives.  Everyone has a bad day at some point.  So kill em with kindness!
The "furry hat lady" went on to tell us that she just gave up her house and is moving to Kentucky with people who she met on facebook! They had a huge piece of land with a small house on it that she could live in for free! She had been through two cancers and beat them, she let the Massachusetts lady get in front of her and gave her a hug and said she will pray for her and her husband!
What a morning...If only I could have found some treasures to buy.  I was so upset over this man that I let it bother me. 
The funny thing is that a huge woman around 300 pounds came in stood in front of me.
 Do you know that the nasty man did not say a word to her!
She ended up getting in front of all of us and going in first!
Karma is a bitch mister, but it wasn't coming to me that day it was coming back at you!
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Church Fair, in the beginning

I love a church fair!
 The simplicity of them, the people that make them happen, the atmosphere, the food, the handcrafted items made throughout the year by the local parishioners, the aromas, the hustle and bustle, the next generation of children running around while their parents work the fair.  It's all so innocent to me. It's so 1950's to me.
My mother was a volunteer for her church for years.  She not only donated her money but her time as well.
All throughout the year she would knit or crochet items to donate for the church bazaar.  She never would ask for money for the yarn, she would buy it with the little money she had at the time and donate the knitted items for the church to sell to raise money to run the church.
Through the years as we got older she involved her children.  We had to volunteer as well.  I could not knit like she could, she was a true knitter creating beautiful items that people would wait in line for each year to buy.  She would make beautiful children's sweaters, scarves, gloves, mittens, slippers etc...I kept all the sweaters she made for my children throughout the years, keeping them for my kids, kids!
This is how my love for church fairs started.  The smells from the kitchens, the amazing boiled hot dog with sauerkraut or the fried dough pizza, the smells still fill my head with such wonderful memories.
The dedication the parishioners had for their church, getting nothing in return but the pleasure of helping out the church by donating their time and skills.
As my mother aged, my sisters and I took on more work at the bazaar.  The regulars who ran it for so long, who we looked up to were getting on in the years, my mother included.  She knew she would have to bring in some younger people to keep the tradition going.  My sisters and I took over the Christmas booth!
Yikes! How could we do what those before us had created?  Amazing hand made ornaments that were absolutely perfectly crafted by their hands...Sewn to perfection. I could not do what they had. I still have some of the things those ladies made.  They had so much passion in what they did. Their displays set up so perfect, so inviting. To those ladies of the St Francis Church bazaar I say thank you for giving us the inspiration to try and do what you had done for so many years. So many are gone now including my mom but the memories will never leave us.   Since their days of handmade ornaments, "China" happened and Christmas Tree shops popped up across the East coast, and who can compete with that? You have to be a crafts person to appreciate hand made items. Most people would rather spend a dollar on something made in China that they can throw away if they get sick of it rather  than five dollars on a handmade ornament.  Sad to say, it changed the St. Francis Church
Christmas Bazaar, Christmas table.  We could not compete with items made in China. Fabric and crafts are costly..you need time to make crafts and back in the days of my mom and her friends, they were stay at home moms!  My sisters and I have families and work full time.
Coming home from work and dealing with the kids and then trying to sew and create handmade items is hard and time consuming! I was tired after working all day, coming home making dinner and making sure the kids homework was done.
So we did it for a few years with our sales for the booth getting less and less each year.  We got to the point were we couldn't give the time any more.  We started buying wholesale items made in you guessed it "China" to sell.  It was easier to buy items wholesale and resell them then try and make them and resell them.  We then got some of our daughters involved and brought in a jewelry booth with donated jewelry from the parishioners and tag sales that we had scoured throughout the year.  They had fun, they also brought in purses, belts and scarves and did that for a couple of years.  Once they got to college age they did not have the time anymore.  It is still a booth at the bazaar but the parents of the school children run it now.
So now we spend our time going to fairs instead of working at one.
I love a church fair and my sisters and I make sure we make time to go to all the local fairs to donate our money to a church or house of worship of any denomination.  It does not matter who or what you worship, we are giving to those who put in the work to run a fair for their place of worship.  It's what our mother taught us. Donate to the church! No matter where or who. It's hard to raise money for anything let alone a small church in a big city who's parishioners have fled to the suburbs! They are left with a small congregation and less money in the weekly giving baskets to run the church.
So off we go to the fairs full of handmade items, good food, baked goods, games for the kids, tag sale items,
jewelry, plants, crafts, antiques, junk raffles and good old fashioned fun!
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