Before and After Silver Haul

I had a meeting in a town about an hour and a

quarter away from my house earlier this week

and on the way home I stopped at a thrift shop

for a look around and found a pile of old silver.

I imagine a family emptied out someone's home

and sent it all to the thrift shop.  Probably many

of these pieces were wedding gifts back when

people got silver for their weddings.  There were

so many cool pieces, a huge circular tray that

must have been 2' across, coffee pots, creamers,

footed water pitchers...  and I didn't buy anything.

NOT ONE THING!  I thought, oh, you have so

much already, where will you put it?

And then I regretted it.  I thought about it all

week.  I really wanted the huge tray.

This was our wedding anniversary weekend and we

were out of state all day on Saturday so I made a deal

with Mr. Wonderful.  I said if we got up early on Sunday

 and got all of our outdoor chores done, could we head

back down south and see if any silver was left?  He was

up for it and off we went.  Of course many of the good

pieces were gone, including the huge tray.  But I did

pick up 10 pieces.  And I got it all for $20 which is the

weekend limit I usually set for myself.  So it was a score!

I polished it all as I was watching the final Lewis on

Masterpiece and now it is all packed away in the china

closet.  I think we will have a silver themed Thanksgiving

and Christmas this year!

Silver Haul!

It's that time of year when the garage sales start up and 

I'm always ready to go treasure hunting.  A church near 

my house was having a rummage sale and I stopped in to

look around.  I saw this bag of silverware marked $5.

The first thing I noticed was this server that was

sitting on top of all the other items.  I thought the

rest of the bag was probably filled with assorted

forks, knives and spoons but I was interested in the

server.  In an antique store this item alone would 

probably cost at least $15 so I figured $5 was a 

good deal.

When I got to the car I looked in the bag and laughed.

I guess someone else likes butter knives as much as

I do!  I use butter knives often and not just for butter,

when I serve triple cream brie or other soft cheeses

or dips, I like to give each person their own knife.

When I was a little girl I always liked to use the butter

knife from my Mum's silver set ~ it just made the meal

more special.

While watching a movie this afternoon I got them all

polished and looking beautiful.

They are mostly silverplate but I did find some 

sterling.  There are even a few that match

 ~ not that that matters...

I love the little shields on this set of 6, perhaps I

should have them engraved with our initial.

These two will go to someone I know with the

initial B.

There was even one M ~ made just for us!

Mid-Century Atomic Snowflake

While I was out treasure hunting recently, I came

across this Mid-Century Meat Platter by Inland Glass.

I took a photo and sent it to Kate saying, "too bad you 

are a vegetarian, this would have been perfect for you."

She asked, "would I have to use it for meat?"  I figured,

no, you could serve anything on it so I got it for her.

This is not just a perfect find because she likes this sort

of style but also if you notice the edging is in black and

gold and Kate is a proud Purdue graduate and those

Boilmakers are wild about their school colors.  This

pattern is known as the Atomic Snowflake which I

find wildly amusing.  It is so Mid-Century.  I'm (luckily)

too young to have had A Bomb drills in my childhood

classrooms, we only had firedrills.  But I remember my

siblings talking about air raid drills where they were 

told to get under their desks.  Ah ~ the good old days!

It also came with a stand so you could keep your

dinner warm with candles under the platter.  I guess

it's good Kate is a vegetarian since our modern tea 

light candles don't fit...

Saturday Market at Fuengirola

If I'm in southern Spain and it is Saturday you

will find me here at the Fuengirola Market at the

fairground.  It is one of the largest markets in Spain.

We park under the orange trees near the art store.

Then the hunt begins!  For the girl who likes

old stuff, this is heaven.  There is a little bit

of everything here and it is not too artfully

arranged, I like the thrill of finding a treasure

among the junk.

I love the idea of buying my produce right

from the wheelbarrow.

Ummm ~ yeah, it's Spain.

This is my favorite style of treasure hunting,

poking through boxes.

Here is a perfect combination, tiles, great door,

old cameras and clocks ~ yum.

So what did I buy?  An assortment of vintage

household items with foreign words on them,

I am an absolute sucker for this stuff.

A Spanish slipware piece and some very

cool knives and forks.  We plan to use them

for spearing olives and spreading cheese.

And a score!!!  I always admired the tobacco

jars at Colonial Williamsburg but they were so

expensive for a transferware reproduction.

Today I found this, handpainted, brass lid

made in Holland and I got it for 10 euros! 

Score!!

A Day in the Country

 

It is Harvest Time in the American Midwest and

Mr. Wonderful and I are both at home at our

American Homestead, Avalon.

We decided to get out on this beautiful day and

spend the day getting lost in the country.  Oh, this

photo is not our home, it is a photo I took as we

sped along a country lane ~ isn't it adorable?

 

 

As we passed through the downtown of a

nearby city we spied this sign.  We decided

we had better eat since we didn't know what

we'd find in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

I had the Cheeseburger Pie, it was tasty!

 

 

Then we were off!  Stopping at antique

shops along the way.

 

 

We had the whole day ahead of us. We

stopped to talk to the animals we found.

 

 

I was making kissy noises and telling

these horses they were so beautiful and

as we pulled up a bit further on the road

I saw there was a man standing just behind

the tree on the left.  I smiled and waved,

and then turned red...

 

 

Don't they look like they are kissing?

 

 

I love how this silo has been repurposed.

I'd like for that to be my reading nook.

 

 

The farmers were out harvesting their

crops.  I could watch those corn-pickers

all day.

 

 

There is the harvest.

 

 

We stopped at a farm where we used to take

our kids pumpkin picking many years ago.

 

 

Some more antiquing in a tiny town in the

middle of nowhere.  They had great pieces

here.  Where do they buy and how do they

stay in business in this sleepy town?

 

 

I love seeing the old courthouses

in the county seats.

 

 

And then it was on to Purdue University. 

If you look closely, you can see the Boilmaker

train going by.  It was a beautiful Fall day and

the campus was alive with activity, the band

was practicing and parading along 3rd Street,

people were strolling and skateboarding...

 

 

Here is the gorgeous Engineering Fountain,

it was designed by my friend Becky's Dad.

 

 

The clocktower ~ if you zoom in to the clockface

you will notice the 4 is IIII, not the typical Roman

numeral IV.  They thought that looked too much

like IU, their archrivals, and they couldn't have

that.  Our Kate tells us, at football games a cheer

will always go up saying, "IU sucks!" ~ no matter

who they are playing.  Often the players from

Michigan, Iowa or wherever will look up in the

stands, perplexed.  So they tell them, "yeah, it

doesn't matter who we're playing, IU still sucks."

Now as parents of an IU student as well, we have

to be fair.  Our IU "Hoosier" tells us, they don't

even respond to this, they just KNOW they are

better...

 

 

Then we spent the evening at a lecture

given by Madeleine Albright.  Our Kate

fit us into her busy schedule ~ between

classes, pumpkin carving and late night

studying.  Glad you could join us Kate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where have all the antiques gone?

 

Yesterday I spent the day with a good friend.

We were enjoying a last breathe of summer.

She works in a school and today was the first

day of school so we wanted one last day to spend

together.  We met in a lovely Midwestern town.

 

 

It is a thriving downtown with a square

built around the beautiful, old courthouse.

It's so nice to see a town with shops and

cafes rather than the sad, deserted downtowns

we see all too often these days.

 

 

Our first stop was in my favorite store,

my "go to place" for unusual pieces, a

nice mix of antiques and vintage items.

But sadly, the whole shop had changed!

The only antiques seemed to be used for

décor only.  Instead there was vintage candy...

 

 

...plenty of soaps and scented candles and

cutesy signs.  But almost all of the good

vintage or antique items are gone.  What has

happened?  In the age of ebay and etsy, have

we used up the antiques?  Or is this the type

of merchandise that their clients want?  Either

of those scenarios make me sad.  This is not

good for the girl who likes old stuff!

 

 

The antique mall did have antiques

and vintage items but they were looking

a bit tired...

 

 

At least we got to spend the day together

having fun and also enjoying the beauty

of the Midwestern countryside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ex Votos

When I was first in Athens I visited the

Flea Market in Monastiraki but I found

mostly sneakers and souvenirs and I love

nothing more than sifting through old junk

so we left and moved on to other sites.

But while hiking on Santorini with Aditya,

he told me I didn't go far enough in to find

the old stuff.

So on a layover in Athens we hopped back into

the city to do a bit more exploring.  Aditya was

right!  Too bad I had time limits and baggage

weight restrictions or I could have gone wild here.

Why didn't I buy that clock face and some

of those keys?  I did score one of those

terracotta heads that are on the edges of

the roofs on every building in Athens. 

As the airport security guy examined it

in Amsterdam, he had to take it around

to all his co-workers for show & tell.

I weighs a ton...

And then I met Achilles and his basket of

ex votos.  In so many of the churches I

visit in Europe I have seen these, along with

watches, rings, crutches, eyeglasses.  Ex

votos are a votive offering often given in

gratitude or devotion or in fulfillment of a

vow.  They are placed in a church or chapel

where one wants to give thanks.  Pilgrimage

destinations will often have a shrine decorated

with ex votos.  I bought a boy and a girl, a house,

one for marriage, one for eyes, and one with

Greek writing that Achilles told me what it meant

but I can't remember what it is.  If anyone can

help, please let me know.

Day Trip: The Old National Road

Treasure Hunting in Rural America

Last Sunday, Mr. Wonderful and I

treated ourselves to one of our favorite

things to do on a Sunday afternoon.  We

went hunting for antiques along the Old

National Road.  The Old National Road was

the first major improved highway in the United

States.  For the settlers heading West in their

covered wagons, it was considered the "Gateway

to the West."  In our neck of the woods, it is still

for the most part a two lane road passing through

farm fields and the little villages of Smalltown

America.  So here is a collection of photos of the

buildings in the towns and samplings from the

antique stores.  I hope you enjoy it as much

as we do.