Proof

Sometimes, when I return from a trip, I make the transition into my usual rut ... uh, routine so quickly that the time away feels like a dream. I love having tangible evidence that I did, indeed, go to those too-soon-hazy places.

Not that I took pictures in the malls, which I really did intend to do - to show the scope of some of these places. I forgot I had the camera until we came out of the endless snow. See how crazy it makes me?



Proof of crappy weather. The white is salt and sand and heaven knows what else. Seriously, when we finally ran it through a car wash (the super-duper-everything wash) we drove about five feet before the hidden stuff started streaking me up again.


These are my banks. The one on the left (log cabin) I bought two years ago. The one on the right is from the trip. (I have a Set!) I have a better picture from the front but it doesn't show the unbroken slot. This view, at least, gives you a glimpse of it inside the chimneys. That tiny sliver of unbroken glass adds value, as do the labels still on the bottoms of both (touting its contents - prepared mustard, a very cool thing in the Victorian Era).




This is a neat pair. The creamer is indeed Portieux pattern - Louis XV. It was $3 at a thrift shop. The Santa was at a small antique place we found just after we returned to dry roads - a rare Robed Santa attributed to Dobson & Co. (patent, 1901). The runners are both chipped off in the back (can you see it?), but even so it's worth more than I paid for it.





Here's my pins. From the sterling silver (upper left) to the gold plated (mostly upper) these are lots of fun. The skinny one up by the airplane is for BP, but I don't think it's the gasoline company - seems to be pipe. My favorites are the music teacher (the colorful one at the top) which is written in German, not English, and the Masque and Gavel, which I'm still researching. Both tested out as plated but I think the jury's still out on the latter. It's flawless, yes?

Then there was the little bit of gold I found (that I wanted to pay their prices for). The peridot ring is a bit fuzzy in the picture, but that's okay - it's very pretty - and the earrings are fabulous (and were fairly cheap). But my favorite here is the wedding set (top left). The fused wedding set. I wear it on my right hand even as I type. It's a lovely, creamy old gold, and the 25 point (or so) diamond in the center is flawless. It puts out such happy vibes that I smile just to wear it.

I did a bit of hunting once I got home, but mostly I've just been catching up on things. What I have found here were prices mostly at scrap value (when gold). That makes them not great bargains but since three were chains, which I desperately need (and which were still less than I'd find at an antique mall or retail) they were worth it. I also discovered a decanter, standing like a custard glass beauty queen in the middle of a shelf full of plaster Dollar Store figurines, coffee cups, and floral-ware giveways. A couple of bucks later, she was mine. I think it's Imperial (which would make it rare) but her neck isn't quite right. When I do the research I'll report back on that.

I'm finding myself spending more than I should lately, and I know it. I need to work on the house for awhile, or on the writing project that has come my way. I won't neglect this - I truly love the hunt - but I will confine myself to rare, oh-my-God pieces or amazing bargains (preferably both!) for awhile. At least, I'll try.

And then, come Spring, I'll divest again. It's the Circle of Life.

At least it is in my house.

Diary of a Hunting Trip

Day 1: Drive, drive, drive. No stops to hunt, just to eat. Wanted to get here - biggest antique mall in the country (or so they say). Got to the hotel, have the whole leg-buzz thing going. And it's really cold. I'm going to bed now.

Day 2: It's really, really cold. Slept late. We forgot a few things, and by the time we caught up it was lunchtime. We ate near the mall. Thought it would take two days to go through, but we did it in six crazy hours. The Big Lug bought a fabulous watch. I lusted after an amazing milk glass bottle (a polar bear and lamppost which I don't remember), but since I didn't have $795 to spend on it bought several little service pins and a diamond-and-peridot ring instead. I wanted more, though - this and this and especially that. Now I remember why I prefer flea markets and thrift shops - I don't drool as much, and I can afford the things that make me that crazy.

It snowed two inches while we were inside, but it's so cold there's no ice or even slush in the parking lot. Sounds like cornstarch when I walk on it. Glad I didn't buy glass, though, because I'd be afraid of slipping and breaking it. My ears are numb. My toes are numb. I should wear my boots.

Day 3: First stop, thrift shop - found a creamer, think it's Portieux. Two other antique malls in the area. We hit both or them today. Found a Westmoreland schoolhouse bank (mustard container from 100 years ago) with an unbroken coin slot, no chips or flea bits on the rim, much paint still on it, original label, half the price of the one I bought several years ago ... wait, do I have a log cabin at home or another schoolhouse? Duplicate or pair? I can't remember since the twin/mate is in a box until I can get my office set up with display. Scored a Deco watch, too (needs cleaning) that said "14K Gold" inside the case. Got excited until I got it back and found the next line - "Supported By Metal." New way of saying "plated." I'll add it to my list. Also dug through some costume jewelry and found a tie tack I think is gold. Had a lot of fun. Can't get a ring set out of my mind from yesterday, though. Maybe we'll stop by and get it on our way out.

My skin is crumbling in this dry, frigid air. My car is covered with salt. My hair looks like a haystack. We're supposed to go north tomorrow.

Day 4: Over my dead body. We haven't had a clear day since we got here, and it's worse around the Great Lakes. We headed south instead, straight south, as soon as we snagged our "haunted-by" finds - he got another watch (okay, three) and I am now the proud owner of a fused wedding set (which I'd never heard of anyone doing but it makes a really fantastic single ring). Roads were icy for awhile, then switched to wet thanks to the salt, and all the time snow, snow, snow. Spending the night in the mountains - couldn't really make it farther. And though it wasn't supposed to be this bad, even here, it is. I want to go home. Next time I decide to travel in winter, I'm headed for Florida.

Day 5: Three hours getting out of the mountains. I almost cried when we hit sunlight, and I went limp with the first stretch of dry road. Still cold, but I can travel without clutching either steering wheel (when driving) or panic bar (when passenger). Stopped at three more places. Found a very old Santa in sleigh (chipped on the sled runners, but at only a tenth of the price a perfect piece would bring, not bad), and a sterling ID bracelet (engraved on the back from the boyfriend, in 1947) in a thrift shop for a dollar. I love shopping cheap, and unexpected.

Last night on the road. Still cold, but almost home. Pictures later.

Happy New Year.

Excess

So I'm sorting through my stuff, getting ready for our trip - deciding what to leave, what to take, and what to stick in the safe deposit box - when suddenly, overwhelmed, I saw it all as if through someone else's eyes, as if I were an alien (or a normal person) seeing it for the first time. And all I could think was ... where did this all come from?

I can't remember buying half of it, and that's not good. A true collector has stories. A true collector doesn't keep things she's outgrown or doesn't really like any more. A true collector doesn't keep everything just because. You know who does that? A hoarder.

Have you seen that show on A&E? (Clean House scared me. This one gave me nightmares.) Soon after I began blogging here (old life) I started the Grande Divestiture. I worked like a demon and cleared an astonishing amount, selling some in a yard sale (see June '08 posts) and giving the rest away. A few weeks ago, I noticed things starting to back up again. I cleared much from my office & closet & bathroom & dressers. I felt sooooo smug. Until today.

When I opened my under-bed storage box, pulled up the tray with my everyday stuff (gold, duh) I found ... seven pairs of sterling hoops that I haven't worn in eighteen months (two of which I bought in that time frame) ... eleven 925 chains that didn't even have pendants attached (in a big, orgy-like heap of tangled links) ... eight rhinestone buttons - buttons! - of various sizes ... and three pairs of broken earrings waiting to be fixed.

Now, understand, I really had done a lot of work, even here. Seriously! I picked and pulled and organized just a few days ago. I remember clearly bagging silver rings and turquoise and onyx. And yet I kept things. I excused. I hemmed and hawed until I just ... didn't part with it.

I can't do this. I won't. I realized today that instead of being a channel for all of this wonderful "learning curve" stuff, I've somehow let myself get snagged in the u-bend between "conspicuous consumption" and "twelve-step program" - hell, I'm one slow drip away from an intervention! I knew - I know - that if I can't blow these pipes for good, I'm going to have the 15 minutes of fame that we supposedly all have ... on the Arts & Entertainment Network.

I had a vision today, and I couldn't claw the donation bags open fast enough because of it. My excess will be gone tomorrow even if I have to walk it to the nearest thrift store.

Anybody need a 16" glass funnel?

Christmas Treasures

This Christmas wasn't one I looked forward to. Plans changed (a lot), priorities shifted, illness hit (the Lug more than me), and somehow the holidays crossed the finish line before I did. "Surreal" doesn't begin to describe it. And yet, somehow, it was a very good day.

Just the two of us this year, for the first time ... ever. Even before the Trips (one year), we spent the holidays with parents, and the first Christmas just us, as a family, was when we were two kids into the three.

Funny that. I didn't look forward to that one much, either. We were living in a foreign country, an ocean away from everything we knew. Two kids, one a year-and-a-half, one four months. We both worked. We both stressed. And it was tough. I wasn't going to do it. The kids were young - what would they know, right? But Christmas Eve, I caved. I couldn't let my daughter's first memory of the holiday be empty. So I went to the base store, bought the only tree there - the homeliest, Charlie Brown leaner you ever saw. One box of ornaments left. Not enough. But there were four boxes of variously flavored candy canes stuck behind a fake Santa. A few toys on naked shelves. Enough lights to sparkle, no more. And three tubes of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in the fridge case.

Every Christmas for years afterward, the three common elements were always candy canes, toys doled out (because there weren't always many), and (other than the one time I tried homemade) those sticky, outrageously delicious canned rolls. A few years ago, we stopped the candy canes because they make almost all peppermint now (boring). And the rolls (all watched waistlines). But we all - still whether here or somewhere else - all take turns opening presents, one by one, giving everyone a chance to open, hold up for the rest to admire, and even sometimes play with the gift.

Today it was just the Big Lug and me. Oddly, it was nice. The presents were few (watch winder for him, gold tester for me ... plus some books and videos) but the warmth, the love, all the good things were still there. It's been an amazing day, as it always is ... no matter what leads up to it.

I hope your holidays were filled with laughter, loved ones, and light. And that your special day, whatever it might be, was better than your warmest dreams. As mine was.

The World Recreated ... One More Time

Hey, I'm here! In my new digs! If you're a first-timer, I've put the "Basics" into a file of archived blogs (in reverse chronological order right now ... gotta figure out how to fix that) so you can see the rules of the game. I'm also in the process of grouping some of my favorite posts, showcasing my favorite bargains and finds. But I'm still doing major reno work here so don't be surprised if there's new gadgets, new colors, even a new subtitle the next time you log on. I'm not the techno-geek in the family. And I'm still trying to find my voice.

See, this started as a blog about getting out of debt, straightening out the finances, and retiring rich. It turned into something weirder and wonderfuller.

Welcome to my midlife crisis.

And my (hopefully) lifelong passion.