ANTIQUES AND APRICOTS.....

Oh, you remember the antique store with that second floor we didn't visit? Well, yesterday we did! What a fun four hours we had poking around in the corners, opening and closing drawers and doors and wondering what some of those things really were. I started my silver/silver plate collection yesterday and am so happy with my finds. Here you will see a set of five dessert forks (I do need these if I am going to bake cakes, right?), two serving spoons and a beautiful ladle. I can hardly wait to add to the collection! Those of you who know me do know that an entire matched set of anything is not the way I fly, so beautiful but unmatched utensils are right up my alley.

We are calling this Roy's toy! He was so excited to find it and I think it is just perfect. Notice the crank on the right side? Yeah, this is a crank phonograph! When we brought it home it didn't work. A few minutes under the skillful hands of Roy and it plays wonderfully! It also came with a nice selection of vintage records. When not being used to entertain and amaze friends and family, I can see it being a nice buffet piece in the dining room.Here you can see the turntable. It also has a tiny cup containing a couple of dozen replacement needles. This photograph shows the record storage shelves and the front "speaker" area, beautiful carved wood inset scene backed with fabric. The speaker cover door also slides in so you don't run into it.

This is a dresser we bought for in our bedroom. It has carved wood handles and is the perfect size, not too big or too small (sheesh..I sound like Goldilocks!)

We bought another light oak dining chair. Our goal is to have seating for 12 but with twelve different but similar chairs. I plan to make some tapestry cushions for them (all different, of course).

So, that was our adventure to the antique store in Oil City, PA. The next trip will focus on additional chairs and a couple of vintage floor lamps. Fortunately Mother has an almost empty basement and a large garage so we do have a storage place until we get that key to the front door! Stay tuned!

In addition to antique trips I am canning, again. This is my sister Suzanne who is the local expert. The current project is canning apricots and also making apricot jam. My pantry (that I don't have yet ) will have beautiful jars in it for sure.