Thursday, March 28, 2013

Jive Turkey Explosion!!


In keeping with the "what the heck holiday are we living right now anyway?" theme, today we're going to talk about turkeys! Yeah, man. Turkeys.

Once again, we'll be flashing back to my trip home in March to see the family. My Mom and I were strolling down a thrift store aisle when I found a ceramic turkey. We both saw it at the same time and I asked her if she wanted it. She seemed way too blasé for the turkey being as cute as he was and told me that I could have it. I then told her that I was stoked because I hadn't owned a single Thanksgiving turkey decoration and this was my first. I then asked "Do you have any Thanksgiving turkeys?" She said, "Yes" and that was it.

Later on, we got back to her house and were hanging out and she opened up a drawer - okay, two drawers. Deep ones. TURKEYS OUT THE WAZOO. I realize that just like yesterday with the post about the corsages, we are back once again to my Mom opening up a drawer and magical things pouring out. Her house really is like some kind of mystic land. It just is. You open a closet and you're gonna say "Wow!". You open a drawer and you're going to be gasping for air. This lady worked for years in a thrift store and even after that, she knows how to do some pickin'. She's got mad skills. I can't even tell you how many houses she's decorated for me throughout the years just with thrift store goodies.

Anyway....all of this turkey talk - who's craving dressing and pie? I am. So, she opens up these drawers and starts rummaging through dozens of turkeys of all kinds - ceramic....paper...glass....turkeys. turkeys. turkeys. And Gurley Thanksgiving candles which I had never even seen out in the wild.

Then she starts giving me turkeys. The lone turkey that I got earlier in the day was out in the car, seeming pretty lame after the unveiling of mass migration of gobblers that was taking place in my Mom's sideboard drawers.



Who knew that my Mom had turkey drawers? Certainly not me. They're in the same unassuming sideboard with the vintage Halloween drawer (didn't know she had one) and vintage toy drawer (didn't know she had one). Holy moly. I can't believe that earlier that day, she'd been so subdued when I asked her if she had any Thanksgiving turkeys in her collection. Talk about a poker face! Anyway, before it was done, I had my very own turkey collection. 


Here are the ceramic ones. 



These two are my favorites in the "tasteful classic turkey" category:



But the ace in the hole has to be this rascal from the kitschy "somebody save him" category:


Um...gobble? 

Y'all have to know that I love that totally insane face. Out of all of the turkeys, he's the only one that seems to understand that Thanksgiving is not a turkey friendly holiday. This guy is made from styrofoam and I can't help but think that he came in a set with a styrofoam farmer with an axe. 


She also gave me some beautiful old paper turkeys like this guy from Beistle. 



Here you'll see them all marching down the sideboard. 




Mr. Kitten Pants couldn't help but teach the small one a lesson about hard-knocks. It's pretty obvious that if I put this collection out this Thanksgiving, I'm going to need to hire security guards for the turkeys. 

I also got this great old paper Thanksgiving tablecloth that more than likely, I'll never have the strength to remove from the package and get gravy on. 


Thanks for taking this trip down Tom Turkey lane with me. Do any of you have turkey collections? Relatives with mysterious sideboard drawers? Do tell! 

Tomorrow, I'm going to buck tradition and talk about Easter, a holiday that is actually happening in the near future. See y'all then! 


Until next time,
x's and o's,
Eartha

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness. What a haul!

You and the Mister need to look into renting a mini-van for your next trip (much like we had when we visited last). Take out (or fold down) the seats and voila!

Come to think of it we don't have any turkey decorations either -- we had the Publix Mr. & Mrs. Pilgrim salt and pepper set (Google the commercial where they come alive!) one year, but ended up taking it to a white elephant gift exchange and it ended up being the most popular item.

I would love the paper turkeys -- I have always been fascinated by the "honeycomb crepe paper"...

Rita said...

Do you think your mom would like to adopt me? :-)

chutti said...

Yes, there are mysterious sideboards like this in my Mom's house, too.
I heard rumors of cake decorating shakedown coming for my sister's visit in May.

Strangely, no Turkeys anywhere in the family. Valentines day is a different beast altogether. Mom has cut up valentines and repurposed them since the 1930's, so there are lots. Not counting the shoebox full I just found after buying and hiding. HUNDREDS of pre 1950's ones.

I do loves me some honeycomb.
Looks like el gato pantalones does too!

cheshirecat666 said...

Oh Lord yes,dude. Like any decent American 70's family,we have tons of turkey stuff,and my Mom being the 70's ceramic queen she was...you can imagine. Fall/TG was a HUGE decorating time in our house in the 70's through the early 80's,then it just kinda fell off. But back then it was turkeys all over

Unknown said...

My mom would be so jealous of your mom's turkey drawer. I am not even kidding- every year I hear her rant about how stores do not offer near enough holiday decor for thanksgiving. She seriously thinks its some kind of corporate conspiracy.

Rae - Say It Aint So said...

i think i have two turkeys. i've never decorated for thanksgiving, but i love the ones with the honeycomb tails!
i have the picture of your mom's stairway with all the blow mold santas saved on my computer because i love it so much! i bet her house is always full of fun stuff!

Lauren T said...

First corsages and now turkeys? You're on a roll with the killer kitsch...great stuff!

Maureen said...

I'm jealous, I will admit that! My mom was the perfect age for keeping this kind of thing, but she was all about the new, get rid of the old-so no turkey drawers for me.

I'm 52, and I feel in a way I am trying to recreate my childhood, one purchase at a time!

Unknown said...

Wow, you have seriously amazing holiday decoration collections! I can never find anything but vintage Xmas stuff. Speaking of collections, since you're a vintage packaging aficionado, have you been to Rare Bird Antique Mall in Goodlettsville? You probably have but we just went for the first time today and omg... that place!

Eartha Kitsch said...

Johnny: You are a very bad influence with that mini van suggestion! :D

Rita: She TOTALLY would!

chutti: Oh, I'd love to see your Mom's collection! And honestly, a cake decorating showdown sounds fascinating!

Kimmie: Ha! That was me on every year before now! I agree with her.

Rae: That stairwell is INSANE. Yeah, she's really got it going on with the holiday decor. I wish she lived closer. We'd all go on a field trip!

Lauren: Thanks! I think my roll has ended and I'm now back to non-holiday related nonsense.

Maureen: I think that a lot of us are doing the same thing!

Michelle: Oh my gosh....YES. My mind reels and I almost pass out when I go in there. I've got a blog post in the works that I keep working on. I can't get it to look as great as it is. I might work on that some more. The world must see!

Librarian Tells All said...

You actually get to say this sentence with a semi-straight face: "Who knew that my Mom had turkey drawers?"

Taken out of context, this goes on the top 10 list of the best sentences ever. HOLY MOLY, does your mom EVER have a turkey drawer! Keith and I just had a great laugh over it. Your mom sounds fun.

<3 jen @ librarian tells all

Rob and Monica said...

put a clear plastic tablecloth over the paper one so you can reuse it! they have them cheap at the dollar stores!

Rob and Monica said...

WOW!!! What a great collection of Thanksgiving turkeymania!!! Monica and I realized last Thanksgiving that we were woefully short in preparedness for the arrival of The Great Turkey. I guess someone heard us because, since then, we have found a lot of great old Thanksgiving stuff! Not as much as you have but we are much better off than we were before!!! (Rob)

SUZY8-TRACK said...

Love your kitschy turkey, soo cute! Also really like those paper turkeys. I have two, along with some paper pumkins and paper hay to go with them.

Dottie said...

Thank you, no seriously thank you for my new obsession. Turkeys. Because, really, I do need one, right? And I'm particularly looking forward to this one!

Eartha, you make my head spin with your awesomeness. Seriously SPIN!

Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

Omg, that's where you get it from! Your mom!

No, I don't have a turkey collection but I feel inspired to start one.

OP SHOP MAMA said...

This post might be my favourite post on any blog EVER!! You're killing me!!
And lucky you with your mom stashing all those goodies up! My mum never chucked anything out. BUt I never seen a turkey drawer like that before!! I'm sharing this post. I love it!