Friday, April 22, 2016

A beautiful spring morning in RVA, and I'm reminiscing about a glorious treasure hunting day yesterday. My friend and I shopped all day, hitting  an estate sale and two thrift stores. And in between, there was PIE!

My friend Ruth Ann is a super dedicated grandmother to a two year old and a one month old.  She is blessed to live close to her daughter, and she helps out every day; cooking, cleaning up messes, and rocking babies to sleep. But she was starved for some treasure hunting. So... In need of some down and dirty shopping? Who you gonna call? Sharon, of course!

We began the day at an estate sale in a semi neglected neighborhood at the edge of the city. . Sweet old bungalow, good stuff, but not the best ever. Lots of pretty glass in clear, pink and green, but it was priced out of my range. I bought one Christmas tree pin and a $5.00 zip lock bag of jewelry. Couldn't resist it.

Ruth Ann and I are firm believers that sheds are magical places. We always haunt them at sales, and we are always rewarded. Last year Ruth Ann found a complete chalk ware nativity set in a shed full of artificial flowers. See? Magical!

So, after completely searching the bungalow, we headed around to the back yard to check out a pair of small sheds. Clearly, these had been the man cave of a fisherman and do it yourself-er for many years.  I found an old tin bucket and two adorable little 1960's rubber dolls made in Hong Kong.  Perhaps a daughter played with them in Dad's shed long ago and left them there.

We completed the sale in an hour, and the day was young. My girlfriend asked if we could please please shop at the Salvation Army store, already a regular feature in this blog.

This place never disappoints me, and yesterday was no exception. I found vintage children's clothes as I always do here, two pieces of Bavarian China, a  MidCentury ice bucket, and a new rug for my son.

But my greatest treasure at the Salvation Army was a unique gift for my Mom, whose birthday is coming up. It was a small Staffordshire plate with two holes at the top to hold a ribbon for hanging. It has a transfer ware design in soft rose featuring swallows and vines. it also bears a verse which says:

When this you see,
Remember me;
Tho far apart
We chance may be.

A perfect gift for my Mom , who lives in Florida six months out of the year. I'm going down for her birthday in three weeks and I am thrilled to have something special for her.

Ok, sorry for the digression. We finished up at the Salvation Army and it was time to choose a lunch spot. We headed from the city out toward a rural area and  chose the Cold Harbor Diner, a back in time spot which does a booming business beginning at 4 a.m. They serve breakfast all day, plus old timey diner favorites. And best of all, with any meal, PIE is 99 cents!

We should have eaten light to save room for pie, but we did not. I had the open face roast beef sandwich, and Ruth Ann had a BLT which must have had a pound of bacon on it. So much bacon that she took a leftover container of bacon home for breakfast.

And then came the big decision... what kind of pie is best for treasure hunting? We both chose chocolate cream, and we were not disappointed.

Tired and full, I asked if Ruth Ann had had enough  shopping and eating for the day. She had not. She was quick to remind me that a large Good Will store was only a mile or so away. Why not complete the day with a Good Will stop? Why not indeed.

The Mechanicsville Good Will, already featured in this blog, is always fun. Yesterday wasn't our best haul ever, but we so enjoyed being together, comparing notes on life, and laughing about growing old.

We finished our shopping at 5:00; we had begun at 10:00. What a great day! We headed home with a headful of great memories and a carful of treasure.

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