Tales of Johnny-Sells.com

How Johnny-Sells Wraps Your Purchases

2010-11-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Click here to see how this Tiffany Glass Ice Bucket was prepared for its trip to Canada.

Mark Nadler at 10 Chimneys!

2010-06-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Johnny & Janet with Song Stylist Mark Nadler

The hard working staff of Johnny-Sells traveled to Scenic Genesee Depot, Wisconsin this weekend to see Mark Nadler's salute to Cole Porter called "Let's Misbehave."
We saw Mr. Nadler perform in Chicago several years ago doing a show about George Gershwin. He is a hyperventilating modern American version of Victor Borge.
His piano playing theatrics put Jerry Lee Lewis to shame. He has a prodigious knowledge of Broadway songs and engages in hilarious banter with the audience. He is also an expert in classical music, especially Russian composers.
He performed at 10 Chimneys, the former home of theater legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The Drawing Room of the beautiful house was the setting for this performance.
Mr. Nadler played a Steinway Piano created especially for Noel Coward.
The house is a tourist destination even without a performance. Tours of the house and grounds are $35 in the summertime.

Red Raspberry Pie recipe

2010-06-19T20:19:00.001-07:00

If you like to bake, here is the recipe (warning - contains about a zillion calories):

RED RASPBERRY PIE

9 inch bottom pie crust (buy, make your own or try graham cracker crust)

FILLING:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ Cup sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons milk

1 Cup whipping cream, whipped

TOPPING:

About 2 Cups fresh red raspberries

Glaze:

1 Cup fresh raspberries

¼ Cup sugar

¼ Cup water

½ teaspoon lemon juice

For filling – In a mixing bowl, beat together softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and milk with electric mixer. By hand, fold in whipped cream. With spatula scrape filling into baked bottom pie crust.

For topping - Arrange a layer of fresh red raspberries on top of filling.

For glaze – In a small saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar and water. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Blend, then strain. Stir in lemon juice and let cool.

Drizzle glaze over raspberries. Refrigerate pie.

August 2007: The Windy City got a whole lot Windier!!!

2010-01-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

Johnny-Sells employee of the month, Janet Treuhaft tries to console our 50 foot sugar maple tree after a severe summer storm damaged it on Thursday, August 23, 2007.

View out the back of our house

But we got off easy. Pictured below is the scene 150 yards west of here.

That's the garage of Real Estate Wiz Gordon Munden

They said it was coming. Large thunderstorms would strike Chicago in the afternoon. I turned on the cable channel that shows the local weather radar and saw an orange blob on the far left side of the screen.

Then I went back to eBaying, going in the other room from time to time to check. The orange blob got closer and closer. I looked out the window. The sky darkened in the west.

I edited some photos and checked the TV again. Larger, more orange, maybe even some red. I thought I was going to see a good show.

I've always loved storms. They're exiting. There were a couple of tornados near my parent's house when I was a kid and I remember how fun it was to run to the basement and scrunch into the southwest corner.

Janet and I were once in a car in a torrential downpour and saw lightning strike Chicago's Hancock Building over and over. She likes storms even more than I do. She revels in telling me stories of being in huge storms on a sailboat in Lake Erie. No thanks.

I thought this was going to be one of those great-to-watch storms.

The orange blob was now over all of Chicago, but still no rain on our back deck. I sat down on the couch near the window watching the orange blob on TV.

The trees across the alley started waving around. Nothing unusual. Then the sky was filled with debris. Not just single leaves, but clumps of leaves. Three and four leaves together still on a small piece of branch. They filled the air.
The sky became not so much black as dirty.

Then part of a tree fell over a garage down the block. Then a huge tree fell over the power lines, dragging them down. A large fireball appeared within the falling tree.

I yelled to Janet that we should go to the basement. She asked if she should turn off the computer.

"No! We've got to go right now!"

She could tell I wasn't kidding and she met me at the top of the basement stairs. I grabbed a container of semi-sweet chocolate chips in case the house collapsed. At least we'd have something to eat. The fact that it was my favorite snack and not her's was not lost on Janet.

We hugged in the basement/photo studio for a couple of minutes. Everything seemed calm after a while, so we went back upstairs.

The house was still there. But two thirds of the 50 foot maple tree in the back yard was blown down, taking the phone lines with it. It was a relatively young, healthy tree and it snapped like a twig.

This neighborhood is filled with old, half rotted trees. Lots of them are still standing. The wind was very capricious. It seemed to scream down our back alley, but wasn't so strong down Eddy St. in front

The tree down the block that took out the power line also fell over one garage and its roots came up from the ground, taking out half of another garage.

The roots of the big tree ripped from the ground.

Neighbors breathing a sigh of relief.

300,000 electric company customers in Chicago lost power after this storm

We were without power for 60 hours. The phone service returned just after the electricity and Comcast internet cable was restored today, Monday.

The felled tree blocked the alley

We have nothing but respect and admiration for the City of Chicago tree removal crews, Commonwealth Edison power line workers, AT and T telephone line workers and Comcast Cable people. You'll never meet a more efficient, no nonsense bunch of men and women. We thank each and every one of them.

We're just thankful no one was hurt.

We apologized to our customers who may have been inconvenienced by this disruption in Johnny-Sells service.

Aftermath

Johnny and a helpful neighbor cutting down the remainder of the fatally injured tree.

I could have been a tree surgeon, but I couldn't stand the site of sap.

It was a good tree, gone but not forgotten.

Baby Bunny at Johnny-Sells!

2010-01-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

A little baby bunny took up residence at the palatial estate of Johnny-Sells last spring.

We spotted the little guy on our early morning stroll around the grounds.

Johnny-Sells Uncovers History!

2010-01-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Restoration at the 110 year old headquarters of Johnny-Sells has uncovered some historic documents.

While working under the roof to prepare the area for new insulation, workers discovered the old insulation, newspapers from 1915!

Most of these newpapers were so old and dried out that they disintegrated upon being touched. Some of the sheets that survive include reports of World War I.

The Countess of Warwick wrote an article as to why women opposed the war. Another dispatch from Berlin predicted the fall of Nish (now known as Nis) in Serbia.

Other parts of the papers included descriptions of the social whirlwind in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale. There are also ads showing the latest fashions of 1915.

We hope you enjoyed this little bit of history. Be glad you didn't have to put up with the 94 years of dust that came with it.

LeRon Lee Autographed Baseball Bat

2010-01-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Johnny-Sells recently sold this baseball bat signed by legendary baseball player LeRon Lee.

What's that you say? You've never heard of him? And you know a lot about Major League Baseball? That's because Mr. Lee is a legend in Japanese baseball.

Here are some interesting facts about LeRon Lee

After playing in the US for the Cardinals, Padres, Indians and Dodgers (1969-76), Lee arrived in Japan in 1977 at age twenty-nine.

Highest career batting average of any player to play in Japan (.320).

All time Gaijin (Non - Japanese) home run hitter with 283

Outfielder and first baseman for Lotte Orions team

Earned Japan Pacific League home run and RBI titles (with 34 and 109 respectively) in his 1977 "rookie" season,

Won the league batting crown in 1980 with a .358 average,

Lee only dropped below the .300 mark his final season.

LeRon is the uncle of Derek Lee, first baseman for the Chicago Cubs.

LeRon's brother, Leon (Derrek's father) also had a successful career as an American player in Japan

LeRon is one of the few American players to assimilate to the Japanese culture, marrying a Japanese woman.

Mr. Lee, his wife and two daughters now live in Northern California.

Roscoe Village Halloween Kids' Parade

2010-01-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

October 25, 2009

Click here to see all the great Halloween costumes.

Johnny-Sells Makes Someone Happy!

2010-01-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

Radko Glass Ornament Revolutionary Reveler NEW

Click here to see our Radkos for Sale!

Johnny-Sells.com got the nicest email recently from one of our customers:

Hi Johnny,

I received my Radko ornament today and it has arrived safe and sound! Thank you for taking the care to package it carefully!
I originally purchased this Santa in Texas in 2003 as a part of Radko's "Santa's Through The Centuries" collection when they first debuted in March 2003. Retailers were suppose to debut only one Santa each month beginning in March '03 and ending in March 2004. However, by a fluke, the retailer had received all 12 Santas and thought she was suppose to display every one of them at once. Bingo! I purchased all 12 of them to make sure I'd have the entire collection.

Three years ago, as I was getting ready to display them, I dropped the Revolutionary Reveler and it broke. Needless to say I cried my eyes out and was heartbroken. I immediately got online and started looking and looking and looking for one...but to no avail.

This year as I was putting my eleven Santas away for the season, I thought what the heck, and I googled "Christopher Radko Revolutionary Reveler" and it led me to e-bay and your store.
You have no idea how much it meant for me to find this piece! Thank you!

Sincerely, A Happy Customer
Thanks for the note, that really means a lot to us.

Johnny-Sells salutes Veterans!

2010-01-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Staff Sgt. Sid Ayers (front row, second from left) and the crew of Worry Bird in Italy in WWII.

Click here to learn stories of US 15th Air Force in World War II

We recently had a customer who has a distant relative who was a tail gunner on a B-24 based in Italy. Click the above link to read a little about the European war's southern front.

On Veterans Day, November 11, and every day, Johnny-Sells honors all the men and women who have served their country.

Viva Agentina!

2010-01-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Johnny-Sells customer Jose Lipari from Cordoba, Argentina was so impressed with Johnny-Sells service that he sent presents.
He sent the beautiful leather wall hanging map of Argentina (shown above), as well as an Argentinian poncho, a pin and a local guidebook for scenic Cordoba, northwest of Buenos Aires. Thanks, Jose!

The United States Postal Service delivers!

2010-01-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

Johnny-Sells sold a set of Noritake China to a lady in South Australia. She was a very patient lady and we didn't hear from her until 3 months later. She very politely asked if we had, by any chance, shipped her china, because she hadn't gotten it yet.
We were horrified. Sometimes, on rare occasions, non-US packages take a month or even a little more, but never three months!

We contacted the Post Office to try to track it down, but it was not to be found in their system or in the Australian Postal system.

We refunded the nice lady's money and asked her to let us know if it ever showed up.

Three more months later, we got a call from a postal worker in Vernon Hills, Illinois, about an hour north of Johnny-Sells in Chicago. They had the Noritake china! Somehow, it had been misdirected by Customs, not the USPS, to Portugal, where it sat in the dead letter office for six months.

Finally, the Portuguese authorities had a package going to suburban Chicago, and they attached the china package to that.
The postal customer in Vernon Hills was from Portugal and had ordered some cooking spices from her home country. She didn't know what the china was all about, so she called her local Post Office to let them know.

The Vernon Hills postal worker called us and we drove up one sunny day and got it.
We then contacted our original customer in Australia and she was thrilled! She paid us again. We shipped it again (in a new box) and it got there in 3 weeks!
That set of china went half way around the world one way, then half way around the world the other way without a crack.

Best of all, our patient customer in South Australia is happy with her well traveled china set!

Johnny-Sells helps save a Grandma's love!

2010-01-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

A little boy in Texas accidentally knocked over and broke his grandma's favorite Hummel figurine. We had the same one listed in auction on eBay.
The little boy's dad emailed us to tell us the story and ask if we would do a buy-it-now on the figure. He proposed a reasonable buy-it-now price and we accepted and quickly shipped it to grandma.

We normally don't add buy-it-now after a product is listed as that can be unfair to bidders who may be waiting until near the end of the listing to make their bid. But this was an emergency, so we agreed.

Dad was ecstatic. Grandma liked the replacement just as much as the original. The dad wrote back to us afterwards that we had saved the day and the little boy wouldn't be written out of grandma's will after all!

Johnny-Sells is glad to help!

Ave Maria!

2010-01-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago a client showed us a ton of items her late aunt had recently left her. She was about to throw it all out when she asked us to take a look at it.

Among the items we found was a toy Farmall tractor that the aunt had let the neighborhood kids play with for years.

It turns out this funny little toy tractor was a valuable antique factory sample of a Culti Vision Farmall-A. The model was manufactured by the Arcade Toy Company. The tractor sold for hundreds of dollars on eBay to a farmer in Texas who collects these tractors.

Some of the money from the sale of the tractor was used to hire a singer for the memorial service for the aunt.

The old Italian lady was given a grand send off with a beautiful rendition of "Ave Maria".

She was not a rich lady and the family wouldn't have been able to afford the singer if Johnny-Sells hadn't "recycled" her toy tractor.