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Monday, February 25, 2013

Antique Ambivalence

Over the weekend, I was wishing to go to a little antiques store near us.  I've never been (though my hubby & daughter have???) and I wanted to check it out.  So, we put it on a big circular route that was in our heads, and took off to the other end of the circle --which happened to include an antique mall.  I have never been to one of these.  It was, in a word, OVERWHELMING.  I have never seen so much old stuff amassed in one place in my life.  As I strolled the aisles [and nooks and crannies], here's what I was thinking:

1.  Why did I sell that children's china [perhaps Hazel-Atlas?] that I played with at my Gram's?  I found a partial set... exactly like Gram had and let me play with growing up.  They were asking an outrageous amount of money for EACH little plate and cup and saucer.  Oy.  I almost cried -- for real.  I stood there with a really sick feeling in my stomach... having those sweet dishes staring at me from the shelf.  Sad.

2.  Sadder still, and the strangest thing I have ever seen at an antique "shop" -- a child's coffin.  For real.  Precious and white...  It made me swallow hard and tear up.

3.  Why do I get so emotional about the history of other people's stuff?  [We went to a tag sale recently -- a gorgeous house FILLED with nice things, and a huge wardrobe... everything that suggested that someone's life had been taken away too suddenly.  At least that was the story I told myself, and it made me so melancholy as I strode through the home, feeling like a trespasser.]


4.  Blue canning jars are not rare as I thought.  They were everywhere at this particular mall -- which made me not want to have one so badly.  I have two already.  On the other hand, my hubby and daughter spotted GREEN jars.  We never found our way back to them, unfortunately.

5.  The very most favorite thing that I saw was a very large [store?] sign that said only, "LEANING" -- and you'll never guess... this vendor had a sense of humor.  You see... the sign was actually.... leaning!  It was at an extreme angle -- so as to make it obvious.  And, I wanted to leave a note that said, "haha - I get it!"  [FINALLY -- some comedic relief among the antiques!]  Yes, I had my camera -- but no, I didn't take pictures.  Totally forgot...  Yes, these are old photos from another adventure.

6.  Pfaltzgraff patterns that I could've chosen for our wedding pattern do not qualify as antiques.  For crying out loud... we've only been married for twenty years!


7.  In a  l-o-n-g, skinny building, why does the restroom always have to been at the other end?

and finally,

8.  It would be cheaper if I just go home and wait until our stuff gets old!

Yes, over the weekend, I was wishing to go to a little antiques store near us...  perhaps another weekend.

4 comments:

  1. I feel the same way.. so many times I havae told my husband, "All this stuff I love simply means the end of someone's life has ended and now here is the stuff that no one cared about". Sad...but I love all the beautiful things of the past...Blessings!

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  2. I get weird at estate sales too. I feel like I'm rifling through someone else's life. And then I start thinking "Did they die?" "Did they get put in a nursing home?" "Do they know that people are looking over all their stuff?" At least at an antique mall I can imagine that the older people lovingly sold this stuff to the vendors so they could move to Florida for retirement and live happily ever after.

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  3. Overwhelming is the perfect word. I feel that way even in the thrift store sometimes. I live in Florida...and lots of stuff ends up there. I see things I used to have but didn't keep. Remember way back when we thought new was so much better? Now I like a mix of old and new. Sweet hugs! (I have a post for tomorrow that I hope you'll come and comment on! heehee!)

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  4. Okay I am laughing so much at this because I feel much the same about things when I hit these places. Oh a child's coffin?? I can't decide if that is sick... or sweet? Either way it's sad. Who would want that? Nevermind... that's an even sadder thought. I hear ya on the blue jars. I still nab em when I can. They are super cheap here... and the Pfaltgraff patterns... um yeah. I don't care that they are calling me THAT old either. I picked mine out almost 18 years ago. Antique?? No way! LOL

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