The Last Thing I Needed Was Another Swan, but….

The last thing I needed was another swan, but I couldn’t resist these beauties at the Broadway Antique Mall in Lebanon, Ohio (near Cincinnati).

After all, my collection didn’t include a piece in blue and here were two little examples.  One is such a gorgeous color ….

…and the other is an unusual example with a cork in the opening.  There is a very light fragrance, so I’m assuming it held perfume at one time.

The large set with the candle holders is also in a color that I haven’t seen before and will be so pretty in autumn arrangements.  My daughter discovered this set and gave them to me as a surprise gift – no occasion, just a gift.

I also found a unique piece to add to my Dutch collection.

What a fun day at the antique mall!

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A Bevy of Swans

I received an Easter gift of a vintage swan holding some delicious chocolate eggs.

This new addition to my collection inspired me to gather all of the pieces which are displayed throughout the house and form a bevy of swans on the living room mantel.  (Note:  I had to Google “group of swans” to see what it was called.)  They range from a wooden candle holder …

… to a small planter with a Dutch girl …

I love them all, but I’m particularly fond of the pieces that are the kind that were found in the dime store in the 1930s-40s – the kind my mother, grandmothers and aunts would have had in their homes.

I love the large bulb bowl ….

…which my daughter keeps filled with beautiful arrangements made from simple grocery store bouquets.

My usual TV/knitting spot is on a couch facing the mantel where I can enjoy my special bevy of swans.

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A Good Day at the Antique Mall

On Saturday, my daughter and I went to one of our favorite antique malls, Miller’s in Lebanon, Ohio.  I found a set of salt/pepper shakers from the era I like (late 1930s-early 1940s), marked “Japan” and a good addition to my Dutch collection.

My daughter found the real treasure – a 1931 Lebanon High School yearbook which also included the 7th and 8th grade classes.  There on the 8th grade class roll was my mother’s name, Martha Mount.  Unfortunately, she must have been absent the day the pictures were taken since we didn’t recognize anyone who looked anything like my mother at that age.

This was a new, modern high school at the time and I remember my mother saying how overwhelmed she was by the big campus and large classes after moving there from the little town of Morrow, Ohio, in the 7th grade.  Just think – a laboratory and a cafeteria!

I made a copy of a snapshot of my mother in her 8th grade graduation dress – one she described as “beautiful”, probably made by her mother.

A picture in the year book would have been nice, but just to find something from so long ago with my mother’s name is exciting.

A few years ago I wrote a blog about last-day-of-school dresses that my mother had made for me and the one dress I didn’t like that looked like her 8th grade graduation dress.

https://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/last-day-of-school-dresses/

Five Good Vintage Finds

In the past week or so, I’ve had good luck in finding five vintage pieces to add to my ever-growing collections.  The first was from eBay – a 1930s era paper fan with artwork by Fern Bisel Peat (1893-1971).  I collect vintage scottie pieces and this one is in near-mint condition.

The back shows an advertisement for Triena children’s laxative (Allied Drug Products of Chattanooga) that was for sale by Farmers Mercantile in Nelagoney, Oklahoma.

I found three wonderful items in antique malls – a Homer Laughlin gravyboat ….

….a Jadeite bowl with lip ….

…. and a set of chubby pre-WWII made-in-Japan bird salt/pepper shakers.  I’m particularly drawn to these birds which were sold in dime stores in the 1930s.

The last item, and the biggest bargain, was found in a Goodwill thrift store for less than $3.00.  This Roseville child’s plate is well worn and faded, obviously used a lot, which I prefer in my pieces.  There was one in almost identical condition selling on eBay for $25.

It’s unusual for me to buy this many pieces in a short period of time, even at good prices, but when I see them, I grab them.

 

Click on pictures to enlarge.

McKee Jadeite Bowl – Thrift Store Find

Saturday on our way to lunch in our small town of Loveland, Ohio, my daughter and I stopped off at a thrift store sponsored by our local autism group.  My daughter spied this great McKee jadeite bowl for only  $10.  It’s a nice size serving bowl measuring 8 inches diameter by 2-1/2 inches deep.

I have a lot of jadeite, mostly Fire King, so this was a new piece to add to the collection.  I use my jadeite as my everyday china and this bowl will get a lot of use.

We stopped at a favorite restaurant, Paxton’s Grill, and then drove on up the road to two more antique stores in Lebanon, Ohio, but I didn’t find any more bargains.

Heart of Ohio Antique Mall – Springfield, Ohio

Because of back problems the past two years, I haven’t been able to travel too far and my daughter and I have taken one day a week during the month of September for a “staycation” day in an area that doesn’t require too much driving.  We enjoyed our last day of this year’s staycation traveling about 1-1/2 hours to Springfield, Ohio.  We pass through the charming town of Yellow Springs and love to have lunch at Young’s plus a stop on the way back home for one of their renowned Bull Shakes made with cream from their own Jersey cows.

It’s about 30 minutes from Yellow Springs to a huge antique mall called “Heart of Ohio” with 650 dealers.  I found a treasure -a  handmade book rack that I would date to the 1940s with my favorite Scottie theme.  I imagine it was made from a kit and includes flaws like the very visible screws and holes drilled in the wrong place, but that made it more lovable to me.

When we got in the car, my daughter handed me something she had bought as a remembrance of our trip.

It’s Roseville and the chips (which I don’t mind) made it very affordable.  I love the little dog lapping up the spilled milk.

On the way home, I was telling my daughter I had seen a small “Made in Japan” Dutch planter which I talked myself out of buying.  Later that evening, she came out with another package that she was going to save as a Christmas gift – the planter I wished I had picked up.

This was a very successful day.

One week of our staycation we went to a favorite restaurant (Grand Finale in Glendale, Ohio) and our favorite local antique mall (Ohio Valley Antiques in Fairfield, Ohio).  We’re at these two places so often, I didn’t think about taking pictures.

Last week we visited an Adams County, Ohio, store.

The first week we stayed local with lunch at our favorite barbecue restaurant (Eli’s in the East End of Cincinnati) ….

…Stopped off at Avoca Park in Terrace Park …

…and did some antique store browsing in Milford, Ohio.

I’m beginning to really love this staycation idea.

Vintage Creamers and Fall Flowers

I have a large collection of vintage creamers and sugar bowls which I use for flower arrangements.  I had just gotten some of my autumn-looking pieces out of storage when my daughter came home with a $6 bouquet from the grocery store and made the old china even more beautiful.

Collectibles of the Week–Memories of School Days

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some are inherited, some were purchased at antique malls and thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years.  Each wek, I’m going to pull out an item and post COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

The day after Labor Day will always mean the first day of school to me, even though my grandchildren and great-grandchildren have been in school since the third week of August.  It just seems appropriate for school to begin again in September.  I brought out my antique granite ware alphabet plate (pictured above), made in Austria.  My daughter painted the old-fashioned school scene.

Birthday gifts one year were this 1930s era pencil box with the Scotties along with a little case that has a 1929 postage stamp affixed.

Inside the box are all the items needed to start out a successful school year, including a holder for a pen nib.  We used these pen holders and dipped the pens in an ink hole on our desks for penmanship lessons and adding new spelling words to a thin pad of paper that was covered in oilcloth.

I’m lucky to have my father’s two arithmetic books which he would have been using in about 1918-19.…

…and four of my mother’s books with notations from her eighth grade class in 1929-30.

I loved school from the first day to the last day of the last year and enjoy seeing these old keepsakes.

Collectibles of the Week–Time to Make Concord Grape Pie

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some were inherited, some were purchased at antique malls, gift shops or thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years, so each week, I’m going to pull out an item and post a COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

Once a year, if I’m lucky, I find Concord grapes at a farm market and make Streusel Concord Grape Pie.  It’s probably my favorite pie and I get out my vintage pie-baking utensils to make it.

There’s a little bit of work involved, including putting the cooked grape pulp through a food mill ….

The dough is rolled out with a one-piece rolling pin my mother gave me over 40 years ago.

I use a pie pan that my toddler children gave me for Christmas in 1956 after they carefully saved up enough Wilson evaporated milk labels to get it.

Actually, I don’t use the pastry blender at all but have it among my collection of depression-green handled utensils.  I once heard Alton Brown, TV food expert, say that mixing with the hands provided exactly the right amount of warmth for making good pastry and that’s the way my grandmothers, mother and I had been doing it all along.

I used my vintage kitchen items to make a Streusel Concord Grape Pie on this past Sunday and it’s still my favorite.

 

If you’re fortunate enough to find some Concord grapes and don’t mind spending a little time peeling them, here is my recipe.  https://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/streusel-concord-grape-pie/

Collectibles of the Week – Covered Dishes

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some were inherited, some were purchased at antique malls, gift shops or thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years, so each week, I’m going to pull out an item and post a COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

I love all of the covered dishes I’m sharing this week.  The rooster and hen are on my kitchen window sill throughout the summer …

In September, I take down the chickens and put up the squirrel and acorn …

In November, naturally, the turkey has the prize spot …

The mini-dishes which are about 3 inches across the bottom are perched somewhere in the kitchen year around – a hen

…and a cobalt blue scottie

All of these dishes were birthday gifts throughout the years.  The rooster, turkey and squirrel go back to the 80s and 90s and are reproductions.  The large hen and the two small dishes are vintage, probably from the 1940s.