Finds of the Week

Since we can't go on a road trip every week, I am going to include a few local finds.



Aztec cup with saucer

 Remember the Aztec dinnerware that I found a few weeks ago? (Metlox page) When I found the cups, I didn't find any saucers to go with them. I did a little research and discovered that the saucers have no decoration on them, only the background speckles. I wondered if other people could have overlooked them as I had. So...I headed back to Goodwill. It didn't even take a minute in the dinnerware section - there they were - three saucers stacked together. Nice save!






Dark Green Planter

 I am a nut about dark green planters from the fifties. It is kind of an obsession. I use one for my sponges by the kitchen sink. I use another for my makeup in the bathroom. And I have a whole bunch on a display shelf in the sunroom. I picked up a new one for $2.98 at America's Thrift Store. I love the scallops along the top.








Russel Wright dinner and salad plates



 When I was growing up, we used Russel Wright Iroquois Casual as our everyday china. Imagine my surprise when I discovered a few years ago that it was all the rage with collectors. I inherited some of my mother's brown Russel Wright and some of my aunt's blue. I have collected a number of other colors over the last few years. As it gained popularity, the prices soared.

Five new style and three old style cups

I went into America's Thrift and was quite surprised to see the familiar shape of the cups. I didn't think  it could possibly be because Russel Wright has become so popular that it is usually snatched up immediately. Unbelieveably, it was Russel Wright! Two sets of four charcoal cups each. Eight cups for $2.00. Unheard of! Off to look for the saucers...and there they were. Also two sets of four charcoal saucers for $2.00.





Do we really need all this tape?



Of course, I had to look for more. There was no more charcoal but there was white, which, by the way, looks very nice with charcoal. Two salad plates and two dinner plates. Russel Wright was designed to be mix-and-match and so many of the colors look really great together. Now - how to get all that sticky tape off...





Blue Heaven

Now how about a couple of blue cups - Royal China's Blue Heaven  







$1.48 for two Jamestown China dinner plates

 A Jamestown China plate with brown flowers -- Early Autumn

Brown Snuff Bottles

 And a couple of old snuff bottles. 











On the Mexican Backroads

Buster seems to have adventures wherever he goes. Right now he is in Mexico and is having a few adventures there. This is his story.

September 17, 2010 Veracruz-Mexico

Seems trouble follows me where ever I go. I had just arrived in Mexico when Hurricane Karl decided to make an abrupt left turn. Karl just so happened to come directly over my head just north of Veracruz. Unfortunately, the people here didn’t know it was knocking at their front door, no news or weather warnings what so ever. I guess after 50 years without a major cat 3 storm, younger people were oblivious to the possible dangers associated with hurricanes.

I am working here as a supervisor for an industrial filtration company out of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and I wouldn’t call this place a tropical paradise, just maybe tropical in nature. Don’t get me wrong - the company we are working for - Repindsa - has gone out of their way to make us feel as comfortable as possible and have bent over backwards to accommodate us every way they could.

We are doing a job at a steel mill called TenarisTamsa just north of Veracruz. I reluctantly went into work knowing what to expect from the storm. Having lived most of my life on the Gulf Coast, I have been through a few storms before, Hurricane Fredrick being the worst. (Time Magazine - September 12, 1979 - man rides out hurricane Fredrick in beach house on Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores, Alabama.) The 2000 local men working at this plant had no idea or warning what to expect from the storm, not even from their company. A foreman told me, “Oh, the rain will be over in a few minutes” and I told him, “You need to bend over and kiss it goodbye. Hell is about to break loose. Part of the roof will come off. Tornadoes will come through and trees will be gone when this is over.” He just laughed.

Well, about 2 hrs later he wasn’t laughing . After 4 cups of coffee, I had to go but the portables were outside of this very large tin building. I tried to force my way against 140 mph winds-of course to no avail- and decided to try later. Unfortunately, part of the roof did come off, and we did have tornadoes, and the trees never had a chance. The men were running around like scared rats trying to find a place to hide. When the eye of the storm came over they said, “See - it is over.” I told them to grab a cheek and hold on again. Once the wind reversed, I tried to make it to the bathroom again only to watch the portables go rolling across the parking lot.

Now the storm is over. Of course we have no power, the roads are out and flooded, and, to top it off, the next day a levee broke and flooded a town we had to go through to get to the plant. Just so happens there is a high toll road back to Veracruz and now we get to go back to work. I guess this is just another chapter in my exciting life. To be continued--

Labor Day Weekend

Glass Flower Frogs

Labor Day Weekend was the perfect weekend to hit the road. As everyone and his brother headed south to the Gulf, Buster and I headed north on Interstate 65. We wanted get a little time on the road Friday night but we didn't last long on the interstate. We soon headed off on the backroads. We spent the night in North Alabama. We really wanted to stay at Mount Cheaha but the state park requires a three day stay on holiday weekends. Mount Cheaha will have to wait for another time.

Saturday



Some of the $5 dinnerware



Hand Painted Creamer and Sugar



We left the Birmingham area and took I-65 north turned onto the backroads towards the Huntsville area. We stopped at one yard sale after another.  Buster found a small old toy car that had a pencil sharpener in the back for 25 cents. Another stop and I scooped up three glass flower frogs for 50 cents. (I wonder why they are called frogs...) A flea market produced a hand painted sugar and creamer (Blue Ridge?), a whole box of dishes with thirty pieces of dinnerware with a yellow flower motif for $5.00, and a b b gun for Buster. (Are those dishes really going to fit in the BMW? Buster talked me into buying those. I hope he remembers that later. We rearranged and got everything to fit.)

A pencil sharpener for Buster



Woodland Gold Dinner
Plate and Platter



We stopped at a very small building that was supposed to be a yard sale and found a small metal plant stand for $1.00. Then we stopped in a town called Silverton. I found a great junk sale by the side of the road. After digging through a ton of dishes, I found a Woodland Gold dinner plate in perfect condition and the gentleman wanted 50 cents for it. That was definitely a bargain! Oddly enough, I have found a number of serving pieces of Woodland Gold but that was my first dinner plate.



Glass Refrigerator Box

 On down the road, a really nice lady was having a yard sale and I purchased a glass refrigerator box for $2.00. There are so many reproductions these days that I don’t really know if it is old or not but I thought it would look really pretty with brightly colored buttons inside of it. Although we don’t usually go in stores, we made a concession and went in to ask directions. Of course I had to look around and I found three more pieces of Woodland Gold - a platter for $7.00, a creamer for $4.00, and a covered vegetable dish for $6.00. I thought all were decent prices and I don’t run into Woodland Gold very often.



Woodland Gold Covered
Vegetable Dish

 I have heard for years about a “lost luggage” place in Scottsboro. I have always wanted to visit so we headed off in that direction. I was very disappointed. They had some great merchandise but, for used items, the prices were very high. We got back on the road and headed toward Tennessee. Somehow we went the wrong direction and ended up at Rock City. It turned out to be one of those good mistakes. We stopped on the road up the mountain for a great view of the sunset. Aaahhh, the good life! That is what the backroads are for. We went up to the railroad at top of mountain then headed down to find a motel outside of Carlton, Tennessee.

Sunday

The next morning we headed out. We left the motel and took the backroads towards Hwy 411 went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to meet our daughter. We had an enjoyable lunch with her and her boyfriend and his family. On the way out of town, we hit a flea market held in a former drive in theater. We were a little late to find any bargains. Everyone was packing up. When we left out of Maryville, Tennessee we ended up on a very curvy road over the mountain. The Dragon’s Tail has over 300 curves in 11 miles. The BMW loved it and so did I! What a great end to the day.

Monday

After several days of leisure, we have some hard driving to get home today. We had to forego the backroads and head for the interstate. No bargains today, lots of hard driving, but what a wonderful weekend. I can’t wait for the next one….

Backroads

One of my favorite things to do is to pack up for the weekend and hit the backroads with my husband, Buster. We love to poke around in junk shops, find yard sales in the country, and eat at off-beat hole-in-the-wall restaurants. So, here is to the best of the South found On the Backroads With Buster!