Taking a Break

We have a big family get-together planned in July, and my well-worn china barely has enough pieces left to feed us all for one meal.  It's time to get some new china, and I thought restaurant china might be a good idea.  If it can survive the treatment it gets in a restaurant, it might even be able to last here!

After pricing some restaurant china at an outlet, I lamented to a friend how expensive it is, and then she told me about Deck's Glassware and Salvage in Chattanooga.  After reading about it online, Kara and I decided to go today, and what a fun experience!  Here's one of the blog posts that inspired us to go.

Part of the back room at Deck's.

More of the back room.  There was lots more, but I stopped taking pictures and started hunting for china!  By the time we'd finished, I promised Kara lunch and a huge cold drink, which she'd earned.  Then it was time to head home and wash the china.

My 20 dinner plates.  That's Misty having a roll in the background.

20 dessert plates and 20 cereal/salad bowls.  We also bought 20 brand new, white pasta bowls.

Getting ready to wash the china.  I soaked it in water with Dawn and vinegar, then washed it with a scrubby sponge.

My sparkling clean china, ready to go in the dishwasher.

Everything washed up beautifully.  I found two plates with small cracks that hadn't been visible through the dirt, but at 50 cents apiece I'm not too worried.  It gives me an excuse to go back and get some more!

All in all, this was a fun and welcome break from everything that's been going on around here lately.

I think it's going to be fun setting the table from now on!

Keeping Us in Stitches

My daughter Kara took me on an outing to the cute little town of Chickamauga today, and she found this in an antique store.  I thought it was absolutely worth $10, especially with a 10% discount! I've already gotten its worth back many times over in enjoyment, and I've only owned it for a couple of hours.

First, we took a straw poll of shoppers and shop-keepers in Chickamauga.  Out of at least 10 people, no one noticed anything about it.  Then I posted it on Facebook and now here.

Do you see why we love it so much?  I'll give you a hint:  If you don't, it probably means you weren't very good in spelling class and didn't memorize your list of homonyms!

Please comment to let me know if you're as smart as Kara--or be honest and just say, "Duh!"  Please don't spoil the fun for others by giving anything away.  If you're tortured, let me know and I'll give you the answer.





P.S.  I googled this verse to see if it was originally like this or if I can thank the "made in China" label on back.  I found lots of interesting things.

This verse is used as a tribute to Brian Jones (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page) on the inside flap of the Rolling Stones' "Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)."

The verse was often written in schoolbooks and autograph books, according to Wiki.

It was also inscribed on tombstones, as in this example of an epitaph from a church in Kent, England, on 1795 the grave of Leonard Woodward (see number 24).

It was also inscribed on a bone spiral bobbin, c. 1859 (scroll down to the W's for a photo).  These bobbins were used in lace-making and were sometimes inscribed with messages in spiral bands beginning at the end and going toward the top of the bobbin.

And now I've gotten even more value from my new treasure because I've learned some new things!

My Genie in a Bottle

Unlike Aladdin, my genie comes out of a bottle instead of a lamp!  But as long as I wish for beautiful-looking antiques, this genie grants all my wishes with a few rubs (using a rag or a bit of steel wool). 

I found Kramer's Best Antique Improver at East Town Antiques back in 2006 when I was restoring an old fireplace to turn into a bookcase.  The first bottle I bought was $13, and it was worth every cent.  When I went back for another bottle it had gone up to $20.  Luckily I already knew that quality-wise it was liquid gold or I would never have tried it out at that price.  But it's still worth every cent when you're trying to make any antique look great.  And by the way, that fireplace I restored 4 1/2 years ago still looks as good as the day I did it!

Look what my genie did to the rusty metal on this old desk.


This antique school desk helped homeschool our kids, then sat in the garage at East Brow for years.  The wood had lost its finish and dried out.  Now the patina is restored, and it looks good enough to sit in the living room.


The surface of the desk at left shows the difference a bit of Antique Restorer starts to make.  With a bit of steel wool it even took of old dried glue!  At right, it's ready to be used again!


Inside the lid were red crayon scribbles, a bit hard to see on the photo at left, but obvious in person.  At right, no more crayon scribbles--just a great, clean, well-stocked desk ready for Charis and Kol and a generation of grandkids to come!

Out with the Old; In with the New! (Tuesday, Feb. 1)

Monday we closed on the East Brow house and on that chapter of our lives.  Or almost . . .  We still have to finish down-sizing from that big old house to our much smaller new one.  In order to do that, I'm putting on a new hat--that of antique dealer!  We've rented two booths at East Town Antiques, one of my favorite antiquing haunts.  While Herb moved heavy boxes and furniture for us, Kara spent much of yesterday helping me arrange the booths.  I went back this morning to finish setting prices and writing up price tags.

Several other dealers stopped by yesterday and today to say how nice the booths look.  Maybe Kara should hang out a shingle!  Now we just need someone to stop in and buy . . .

In the afternoon I headed over to Jim and Monique's to give her a hand with the children--and to enjoy some time with Charis and Kol, of course.  Charis picked a favorite book from Mimi's "Surprise Bag" to read while Mama bounced Kol.

Such a sweet face!

And another one! 

Farmer . . . antique dealer . . . grandmother . . .  Guess which is my favorite hat to wear?

Anything to Put Off Cleaning!

Yesterday we bought this Jacobean Revival (c. 1920) English Court Cupboard, and today I've spent a good part of the day moving dishes, tea, and bottles of alcohol around to get things where I want them!  Of course, rearranging one cupboard-full of stuff means you have to do another one, and so on and so forth!  Anything to put off actually having to clean the house!  But it's so much fun arranging this nifty piece of furniture which hides the messy sink from the dining table, serves as a bar, and even holds tea things, too.  For now, I love it here!  But if we ever get around to finishing off the other half of the attic into a "Grandkids' Dorm," I may just have to move this piece up there.  The theme of the Grandkids' Dorm is going to be "Hobbiton," and this is such a delightfully "hobbity" piece of furniture!  Or I could go antiquing again, looking for another one . . .  Well, not right now; I need to clean this house before Jenny and Jean-Marc arrive--and decide to go stay somewhere else!