A Loss (Depreciation) and a Gain (Unplanned): Easter Surprises

It's Easter. I had hoped the Easter Bunny would bring me some Pyrex. In a weird way he did and he did not. This holiday weekend has me experiencing a Pyrex loss and a gain.

Let's start with the loss. It's not a total loss, so perhaps we should call it a depreciation.

I have a Musical Staff. Well, I should say my husband has a Musical Staff. I am not such a huge fan but I love space savers so yay, we both were happy. Then someone offered me a Friendship Penn Dutch for my Musical Staff. I talked it over with husband, pulled the Musical Staff down from the shelf and took some detailed pictures then put the piece back on the shelf, sent the pictures to my potential trade partner, and the trade was arranged. Yay! I pulled the Musical Staff back down and set it on the kitchen table, on top of a Martha Stewart Living, to pack the next day. The next day being Easter (today) we all sat down to eat some waffles and I idly glanced at the dish.

Looks pretty, right?

Then I took a closer look because something just seemed off. I pulled it closer to me and saw this:

Photo taken with a super fancy camera and lens

What the what? How did that chip get there????? It was not there the night before. Nor was it present in any of the detailed pictures I took. The dish was just sitting on the table all night, all by itself. Upon closer examination it looks like there is a small black stone in the chip. At first I thought it was paint but nope, it's a small stone. Then it all clicked. There has been a rash of broken pieces pictured in one of my Facebook groups, and all were traced back to a stone in the glass. The breaks were all clean or sheared, just like mine. Some breaks were on a larger scale than mine, but still, all because of a stone.

So that means I must now write about my gain. Well, we went to an estate sale the day before and I picked up a pretty trashed Verde 502. The lid was pristine and for $2 I was wiling to just get the lid. Husband was convinced he could clean up the dish. I was skeptical, it was pretty dirty and had some white stuff on it. We brought it home and he got to work. It came out like new.

Okay, so I don't like Verde so I told him I wanted to trade it, He said, well, don't you have a Verde 501? I said yes. Then I realized I had two Verde 501s, one of which was in the refrigerator holding diced onions. Then husband pointed out I have a Square Flowers bottom in my 503 stack, and wasn't that a special Verde 503 bottom that was sometimes used instead of the solid green 503? He put it all together and voila! instant set.

He was pretty happy, as you can see, so much so he took a selfie and posted it in a Facebook group. We agreed to keep the 502 and now I have a full set.

Jacquelyn

Old Orchard Complete Fridgie Set

I know Old Orchard is not the favorite pattern of the PC community. It may even be labeled as the "ugliest" and least collected. 

But there is always one of us right? 

I love Old Orchard. It reminds me of home. I have eaten soup from the same 441 my entire life (even taking it with me to college). I like the color brown. I just like everything about it.

And I finally got to complete my set of fridgies last week.  You can see the amount of work I put into it  here at Treasures My Husband Hates.

Pairs perfectly with the wood box and Squirrel Shaker set. 

Someone always have to love the "uglies." 

That someone is me. 

~Katie

Treasure Hunter

Spring Blossom Fridgies!

Lookie what I got. Or am getting, they are in Michigan, my cousin got them for me. 

(Read that story here at treasures my husband hates)

That 503 finishes my Spring Blossom Fridgie Set. 

For a total score of $5.55. 

I wish I could find those prices here in CA. 

Butterprint Bargain

Before I knew how obsessive I would become over Pyrex, I passed up a Butterprint fridge dish set at a local thrift store. I remember looking at it, thinking how cute the partial set was (being somewhat of a Pyrex virgin at that point, I was ignorant of the fact that it was completely missing the mid-sized 502 dish.)

I saw the fridgies two or three more times over the next few weeks -- still on sale for $20. Still no buyers. 

Then one day, I went in, determined to buy them for myself, and of course the set was gone. 

Much later, when I realized how much I loved fridge dishes, I managed to acquire two Butterprint 501s and a 502 on two different occasions. (You can read that story from Christmas here.) 

This week, as I made the thrift rounds, I found nothing except this lonely lidless Butterprint 503 on a bottom shelf for a whopping $2. 

Ironically, it was at that same thrift shop where I passed up the set over a year ago. I wondered if maybe it wasn't the same dish...? (Or am I the only one who buys stuff, realizes I don't need it, and then re-donates it back to the same thrift store where I purchased it?!) 

I had an extra lid since I found a sad Butterprint fridgie a few months back -- it looked like it had seen better days outside of the dishwasher. I think maybe only the rooster's tail was still blue -- the rest had faded completely. I bought the fridgie and then handed the cashier the bottom part since I only wanted to keep the lid.

So, I now have three complete sets of fridge dishes. I am officially out of room and probably need to stop looking for them. (Oh, who am I kidding?! How does one actually stop?) 

What sets are you looking to complete this spring?

Brenda

Gooseberry Galore

Remember this little guy? The gooseberry fridge dish I found a while back for a buck, no lid? The fact that I've never seen pink and white gooseberry anywhere around here, let alone at a thrift store?

Well, today I found the rest of the family. 

At a thrift store. 

For $20.

!!!!!

My mom was with me again -- honestly, I think she may be my lucky charm, because last time, I found that green wheat space saver with her. She told me how hilarious it is to see me get excited about vintage Pyrex -- she actually said it's like rainbows burst out of me when I see something!

Rainbows or not, I'm still bursting. While there is a tiny chip on two of the smaller lids, I still think I got a great deal. 

And, I couldn't leave this lonely little Cinderella bowl behind, could I? 

 
I know $8 was kind of steep for the bowl, but I knew I'd regret not snatching it up. Plus, I like this thrift store and I know they do a lot of good things for people, so I like to think of it as a little extra donation for their work. 

Gooseberry galore, for sure. I can hardly wait to see what the rest of spring will bring! 

Brenda

 

Pyrex Success, Large and Small

Hi PC3, SusieQT here from Practice in Time!

I had a very good day thrifting yesterday! It didn't start out very well, though- I actually left the first two stores empty handed. And my daughter, who's almost 5, had a meltdown in the third store. But not until after I had found my first ever piece of pink daisy!

 

Normally I am not a big fan of the divided dishes. I have 4 of them now and they are a pain to display since they don't nest. As a matter of fact, I don't have any of them on display at all right now. But no way was I going to leave this one behind! It is in mint condition- not a scratch or chip anywhere- probably never been used. This is also the first divided dish I have found with a lid. You can bet I will find a place to put this one on the shelf with all my pinks!

So even though my daughter was throwing a fit in the store, I was as happy as a clam.

At the next stop, we got her calmed down (she really wanted me to buy her a certain stuffed polar bear, and there is no way I'm bringing used stuffed animals into my house) and I happened to find something I have been needing for a long time now:

Yes, a simple little red 501, with no lid and quite a bit of wear (although no DWD) for $2. This might have made me happier than the pink daisy...

Because I have now completed my primary fridgie set!!!! This is the first set of any pattern that I have completed (I'm really close on a couple of others, too.) I started this set with a single red 501 at least 8 years  ago, and got everything in the wild, nothing online. I'm kinda proud of that and happy that I waited, because I think the whole thing cost me less than $20.

Now I have a bit of a space problem, but that's not a bad problem to have. These are my finds from the last couple of weeks, and I haven't yet figured out how to get them all in the cupboard! :)

Primary Fridgies Found!

Hi all, SusieQT here from Practice in Time!

Well, it finally happened to me- the dreaded Pyrex drought. I went a couple of weeks without finding anything- there wasn't even a bit of Pyrex in my regular thrift store rotation. So I had to do something drastic. (OK, yes, I bought some more on eBay, but that's a post for another day!)

I actually took a whole day off and went to some thrift stores farther away that I hardly ever have time to get to. And boy, was it worth it!

We have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near us, but it is only open Wed-Sat. It's kind of tough to get over there on those days, and I've been meaning to go there for months. I have found Pyrex there in the past, and this time I had high hopes. But this time it didn't pan out as I had hoped. I did find some other things (more on that in a sec), but the only Pyrex in the place was this lone Butterfly Gold mug. This is not a pattern I collect, but I love Pyrex mugs, and I was desperate, so I bought it.

Obviously, one mug is not enough to quench my Pyrex thirst, so I figured I'd run across town to another giant thrift store I hardly ever get to. This store is in an old warehouse, and is packed. It is also a little on the high side, price-wise. At first glance, it was a bit overwhelming, but eventually I got my bearings and got my nose on the Pyrex.

The first thing I found was the yellow 503. Now we're talking- I collect Primary, and even though I do already have this one, no way was I leaving it. Then I ran into an old friend of mine, and while we were talking I spotted the two blue 502s. I don't think she minded that I practically turned my back on her to grab these quick!

I needed one of the blue ones to almost complete my first Primary fridge set- I only need one more red 501- and finding two was a bonus! It wasn't until I was back in the car on the way home that I realized with the two yellow and two blue ones, now I only need 3 red 501s to have two complete sets! Believe me, I searched that store high and low for the red ones, but they were nowhere to be found. Well, they're out there somewhere and I will find them sooner or later, that is, if I don't break down and buy them on eBay (no, bad! bad!) Like I said, this store is a bit high on prices- the yellow was $8 and each blue was $6. They do have the old style lids and are in great shape except for a couple of nicks to the corners of the lids.

OK, well, that's the end of the Pyrex, but if you want to stick around I'll show you what else I found at the ReStore. These are tangentially Pyrex-related, so it kind of counts, right?

This is like a fridgie from the 1930s, pre-Pyrex. It is a refrigerator dish made by Hall China and is marked on the bottom "Coldspot Refrigerator Dish". It was pretty neat, and only $2.

These I bought after learning about Pyrex delphite. I knew they weren't Pyrex, but I have never seen delphite in person before, so they had to come home with me. I collect jadeite, and really never even heard about delphite until I started collecting Pyrex. They are so pretty, I hope to find more! If anyone knows about the pattern or maker of these, I'd love to hear it, because in the little research I've been able to do, I've come up empty (they are not Jeannette Cherry Blossom- that I do know). They are unmarked on the bottom, except for the numbers 1,2, and 3 (presumably for the pieces in the set.)

The best part was that they were only $4 and since I was wearing a red shirt, I got 20% off for their Valentines day sale. Score!

Gooseberry Goosebumps

I have already confessed to you all my obsession with fridge dishes. Well, as if I didn't have enough, the other day, I found my first ever Gooseberry fridgie at a thrift store. No lid, but for a whole dollar, I was ecstatic nonetheless -- I actually got goosebumps! I've never even seen any piece of Gooseberry in person (even at antique shops!) I love that it also matches my pink fridgie. 

Did I say I was only going to collect Butterfly Gold?? Umm. I think I have to retract my statement...

Brenda

Fridge Dish Frenzy

I have a confession. (I feel safe revealing it here...) I think I have a slight obsession with fridge dishes. I thought I'd be okay once I got the full Butterfly Gold set.

But it turns out that was just the beginning!

 
I found a few Butterprint fridgies soon after, plus a pink 503 (you can see those here, and here if you missed my previous posts.) Next, I saw a lovely green 503 at an antique store. I didn't want to spend the $20 on it, but after a week, decided to pay the shop a visit again (just to at least look at it again... maybe it was on sale?!) 

It had been sold, sadly. This orange one though, without a lid, was up for grabs at another vendor! More than I wanted to pay... but it was definitely less than $20, so I left smiling.

 

And that same week at a thrift store, I found an orange 502, also without a lid. 

Be still my heart. 

As if that wasn't enough excitement... I also found the greens soon after. 

The smaller one came with a lid. The green one didn't (lid is borrowed for the photo) but I had to laugh. This is the same one I passed up at the antique store. It must have followed me home for only $2. There are quite a few scratches on it, and the smaller one looks like it's been through the dishwasher -- the color is very dull, but for that price, who can argue?

I swore I was done. But this week, I ran into another thrift store and spied this primary yellow 503 on the shelf, with the lid for only $3.50. I saw another lady near the shelf and I thought about tackling her for the Pyrex, but luckily she was interested in something else. 

Tonight, I made a South African Fridge Milk Tart. Of course the fridge dishes were perfect for the task. I posted the recipe (and more Pyrex eye-candy!) here, on Typing Sunflowers.

The little yellow hostess dish? Spied and acquired at a thrift store. I'm keeping my eye out for the remainder of the set... it must be out there somewhere. 

I think it's safe to say, I have enough fridge dishes... for now.

May your fridge finds be just as fabulous! 

Brenda

Tickled Pink, Again

Like most days, especially in the winter, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, surrounded by yumminess and of course, Pyrex! Today, I prepped for a little holiday soiree I'm having this weekend.

Chocolate truffle ganache, jello (for fun shaped table decor), and sugared cranberries all made the cut for Pyrex use: 

Just as I was about to start baking the cookies, I realized I didn't have enough brown sugar. I ran over to the store -- and decided to hit Salvation Army along the way. I am super fortunate to live within a few miles of at least four different thrift stores. Most are along the way to somewhere in my town -- and most have a housewares department that only takes a few minutes to scan. 

Today, right as I neared the end of my 'scan', I found this for a whopping $3: 

It has a small chip on the pink part of the dish, right on the handle, but for $3, it was still worth it for the perfect lid alone!  

I was just at this Salvation Army the other day, and didn't find a thing. But thanks to my poor planning on the brown sugar front, I now have something else to match the Pink Daisy dish I had been contemplating giving away. 

Of course I put the Pyrex to use as soon as those cookies were done. 

Hope your kitchen mishaps lead you to Pyrex prospects as well!

Brenda 

Old Orchard, I love thee.

Wanna See some of my most recent  finds? lookie here:

I almost missed out on this: 

Old Orchard 501 with lid. You wanna know why you can read about it here. 

Stupid Thrift stores!  I love this set, It is one I have wanted for a long time. I found it once, didn't buy it and went back and of course it was gone. Now to find the other 3. 

I also grabbed this Anchor Hocking Measuring cup, no handle, with splash guard and beater. I have wanted a Pyrex one and didn't want to shell out the money for the one I saw at Value Village (they wanted $50!)  I came home with this lovely  for $7.

My local no name  thrift store was being a real pain this week (see above link) but I managed to get what I wanted. You wanna see my other treasures you can read about them at treasuresmyhh.blogspot.com.

 

Pyrex in Saint Louis

Anyone else out there in Pyrex land from St. Louis? Took a trip last weekend (on date night, of course) to The Future Antiques and was speechless. They have so many beautiful Pyrex pieces, as their website photos show. I found a compass divided dish and finally got a large yellow refrigerator dish with lid. This will complete my primary refrigerator set, as soon as I see my Aunt to grab the two small red ones she has for me!

I haven't had one Goodwill find in my area (west of STL), but mostly thrift stores and antique stores. Anyone else in my area have that experience? 

See all my Pyrex, crafting, cooking, and thrifting adventures at The Halcyon Life!