For the first time in quite a while we were able to go to the Downtowner for Saturday morning breakfast and run errands to the bank, post office and feed store.
There was a car show on the courthouse lawn and Larry wanted to have a look. I like old cars but don't care about looking at the in depth, so I went across the street to one of those shops that go beyond the name "junk" to another level entirely.
Sometimes I find treasures there, sometimes not. Today was a good day. I'd been looking for an older slotted spoon but most are $4 and up in the shops I've visited. Today I scored a red-handled on for 50 cents. Happy me!
In the stacks of musty books I found 3 more volumes of the My Book House series. These books were my introduction to fairy and folk tales and I have good memories of hours spent reading and re-reading them. Today's volumes were $2 each; a quick look online told me I could find them for $1, but shipping would put them around $4 each so I think I did all right on these.
As I was about to leave I spotted a countertop full of silverplate. $1.00 each, the sign said. We've been using my mother's silverplate for the past year and I've been augmenting it from time to time on eBay so that I will have enough when all the family visits. I still needed soup spoons, salad forks and teaspoons, and I found nice ones of all three in the piles today. A quick cleaning when I got home brought back their shine. Matching? Of course not, but that's the fun of using vintage items, isn't it?
This afternoon I've been working on the story I've been researching. Today I'm creating my list of sources, and thinking about the various versions of the tale. Where does truth hide? There is much I will never be able to find out; time has passed, the people are gone and much was not written down or passed on. So I think about the story, learn about the people and then decide how things must have happened--what was most likely and what parts of the story were exaggerated by imaginations and storytellers over the years. Yesterday evening we drove to the place where the story supposedly took place, and I will post those photos tomorrow.
As for the peppers, apples and other garden work to be done--tomorrow. Thank goodness for tomorrow.
Hey Granny Sue!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a wonderful day today! Lots of great finds too! Can't wait to see the pictures!
My sisters and I were raised on a used set of My Book House. And I got to keep them when we cleared our mom's house. I still go back to them for stories and to see if they are just as special as they were in my childhood. My children had favorites from those books also. Now my sister is collecting whenever she can find copies.
ReplyDeleteI knew you and I had a childhood in common.
It was a fun day, Angela. Just back from a nice evening visit and bonfire with friends.
ReplyDeleteDGranna, if she wants to find copies and doesn't mind online shopping, she can find hundreds of them on www.abebooks.com That's where I checked prices (as I do for any book I think might have some value). They had everything from single copies to whole sets, and a wide range of prices too. I believe the set we had was the earliest, since they were my father's and his older siblings, and he was born in 1922.
Sounds like you had a wonderful Saturday! It's always fun to find new treasures in the discards of others. Give me the old stuff anyday it has so much character and I always wonder about the people who owned it first. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Mamabug. Old things tend to be better made usually, and I like the feel of the materials and the tease of the story behind the items. And often, wonder how in the world they ended up in a yard sale or junk shop.
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