Eastern Market

When I went to Sarah's two years ago to wedding dress shop we went to Eastern Market in D.C. I loved it then and knew I wanted to go back. Luckily, Dan and Sarah live right next to a golf course so when Tim and Dan played Sarah and I headed to the city. We parked at the metro and rode in. It was a glorious October day. Love this view of the Capitol as we crossed from the metro toward Eastern Market.

 

On weekends there is a flea market and a good amount of outdoor vendors set up.

 

 

I had to get a picture of these metal pink flamingos because Jen bought Sarah a couple of plastic ones for her wedding shower last year. These metal ones are a huge improvement!!

 

 Something for everyone...even Tim.

 

We walked around the outside area and just browsed. I didn't see too much that really caught my eye except a $35 yellow painted night stand. I couldn't get over the cheap price. We saw several more for $100 each. If we had a vehicle it would have been worth buying but not to haul on the metro. I did pick up a couple of old cookie cutters because I liked them and mom has some like them. We grew up making cookies and now I have followed suit and bake sugar cookies. I bought them (well, actually Sarah paid for them because I didn't have any small bills...I owe you Sarah. ;)) and walked away, then I thought, "hmph, if I asked mom for her cookie cutters she would probably give them to me." I don't know why I had never thought of it.

 

 

 Then we went inside. I love the inside market. I love looking at the baked goods, pastas and even the meats. Sarah did buy two steaks for Tim and Dan's dinner. We checked the seafood but prices were a bit higher so we bought scallops at Harris Teeter later. I loved all the fresh flowers too!! How beautiful.

 

For lunch Sarah had the crab cake sandwich just like last time we went and I picked the oyster sandwich. They were on a fresh homemade bun and were delicious!! We each shared a couple of bites of each other's sandwiches.

 

Then before we left we headed to the bakery for a little sweet. We were going to share a cupcake but I spotted a cannoli which I had never eaten before. It was good but next time I think I would pick the cupcake.

We walked back to the metro as we finished off our cannoli.  We stopped by Harris Teeter to pick up a couple of things and then back home to relax.

Barn Sales

Back in the summer the Hogan's invited us to visit when Sarah and Dan were there in August. With Tim's new job the timing just wasn't ideal so we didn't go. Well, of course Sarah was all sad and played the "but when will I get to see you again?" card. ;) So, we told her we would come up to visit in the fall since she wouldn't be in until Christmas. We planned to leave Thursday morning and drive back Sunday but Tim found out a couple of days before he had three meetings Friday morning he couldn't miss. So, we changed our plans and left Friday afternoon and came back Monday. I am so glad I have learned to be more flexible and just go with the flow. We didn't end up leaving until about two thirty because his meetings ran long. No big deal though.

We had an uneventful trip and arrived in Falls Church 9ish. We watched the rest of the baseball game...yes, still watching and waiting for the Cardinals to lose!! Thank goodness they were finally eliminated so I can get on with my life now. ;) Haha. I kid...kinda. =/

Saturday morning we got up and showered and headed to Frederick, Maryland to two barn sales!! Yes...barn sales!! Sarah had seen a story in The Washington Post a few weeks ago and suggested we go because of course she knew I would love it! Instead of playing golf Tim came along with us (not to worry he played golf the next day.) After all, he is my spotter! First stop was to the Stylish Patina's barn sale. There was a lot of good stuff. We bought a small ironstone platter, a silver candle snuffer and old pair of binoculars.
 

 

 

Then on to Chartreuse & co. It had several buildings to go through, including a large barn and old farm house. It also had some great stuff. I loved all the industrial pieces and lights. We ended up buying a metronome (we thought it was a radio until we got it home) made by Seth Thomas. I was sold when I saw that it said Seth Thomas because when I was a teenager I had a dream I had a baby and named him Seth Thomas. Obviously, that is where I go Seth's name. My parent's sold that brand clock in their jewelry store at one time. We also bought a clock that I loved too. I love old clocks but hadn't ever bought one. I loved the shape and color. It was different than any I had seen before.

 

I left there happy with our purchases! The area where the barn sales were was so beautiful. It was all farmland and farms everywhere. We also drove through a couple of little communities called Buckeystown and Adamstown which were so quaint with beautiful old homes. We passed several pumpkin patches too.

 

 

 

Since we were out that way we also stopped at Lucketts which I have wanted to go to for over two years. It was a great place to browse through but we were hungry for lunch and I had spent over my self imposed spending limit so we walked through a little quicker than I normally would have.

I definitely would like to go back to all three places sometime while Sarah still lives in NoVa. We stopped in Leesburg and ate a late lunch at a little pizza place. Then Sarah drove us around the Dulles Toll Road so we could see her Deltek office in Herndon. We listened to the end of the Virginia football game as we drove back to Sarah's. Whew, wish we hadn't. Virginia is having a ROUGH year! Such is the life of a Virginia fan. At least Tech lost too. Dan didn't have anything on us. ;)

 

We went back to Sarah's and just relaxed. We cooked dinner later and of course watched the baseball game.

 

Here are my barn sale finds in place at home.

 

Next up: Eastern Market.

The Rest of Sarah's Visit

I'll tell you, coming up with a title for posts is hard. For me, anyway.

So, on Saturday I got up and baked my oatmeal raisin cookies and mixed up some slaw dressing to take to Roger's cookout. We drove to Kingsport and arrived a little after one. Of course we were almost the first ones to get there. I bet that was foreign to Sarah. ;) It was already HOT.

Roger grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and everyone brought something. I took this picture of Tim's plate minus his hamburger to remember that he ate Kim's broccoli/cauliflower salad. In the thirty some years I have known him I have NEVER known him to eat broccoli. And he liked it...the salad that is.

The crowd was a bit smaller this year. It seems as though it ebbs and flows. Sarah hadn't been to one of Roger's cookouts in years since she moved to Northern Virginia. I couldn't tell you the last time Seth went either. Bum. ;) Jen and Michael were there with Addy. Jen is due with a boy in August and she looked fabulous. Addy isn't familiar with us so she never has warmed up to us yet. It's hard when we only see them a couple of times a year. Mammy had been in the hospital a week ago because she fell. She is home recuperating but didn't feel well on Saturday (she had overdone it the day before) so Jane brought she and Pappy over for just a little while. I'm glad Sarah was able to sit inside (with air conditioning) to visit with Mammy and Pappy.

Roger and Pat had their first 4th of July cookout in 1990, the year they moved back from Pennsylvania. Their screened in back porch inspired us to build one too. I'm glad Roger continued having it after Pat passed away. It has become one of my favorite family traditions. The kids used to love to go and swim every year. We haven't taken our swimsuits in years. I guess you just kinda grow out of swimming. Sarah sat poolside for a few minutes before we left. It was just too hot to be in the sun.

Even though the car had been parked in shade this was the temperature when we got in the car to leave.  The air conditioning felt so good on our drive home.

On to the next party we went. Andrew's 5th birthday party at Jen's "Flat Gap" house. Thank goodness we got there late and just in time to miss the birthday boy getting pushed into the pool by Ean (payback) and splitting his chin open. So thankful we missed the drama! He survived though and partied like a trooper. Erin took him to the emergency room later and he got seven stitches.

We always get such a kick out of the funny things Andrew says. And the way he says it. After he cut his chin he was crying and said, "Just my luck, now I'm gonna be four and won't get to turn five." Also, when Erin told him they would have to ride over to the hospital to let a doctor look at it he said, "but you are a doctor and you already looked at it." You can't get anything past him. Seth told us later that he saw Andrew pass Ean and heard him say, "thanks a lot" and of course Ean was oblivious. Oh, just the thought of it now cracks me up. Never a dull moment!

Like I said the party went on. Andrew enjoyed playing an swimming with his friends and cousins. He even made up with Ean.

Ean, Cayden and Bailee

Fortunately, the sun went behind some clouds about the time we got to Jen's so it wasn't too hot. Gary Dee, Colma, Gary, Peggy, Pete, and Tammy's crew were there too so we mostly visited. After Erin and Jen left to take Andrew to the ER we helped Fred clean up and then headed for home. After being gone most of the day it was nice to be back home for the evening. We watched some of the reds game but didn't stay up as late. Sarah needed to leave by nine the next morning to pick up Dan in Roanoke and we had church so crashed at a reasonable time.

Sarah's Visit

Since Dan has class every other month in Roanoke Sarah was able to come home last weekend. She dropped Dan off for his MBA classes Friday morning and drove home. She stopped in Wise to have lunch with a couple of friends and then arrived here after one. One of Sarah's goals while she is home is to visit as many people as possible. So, we always try to have a family gathering or she tries to go see everyone. Luckily for her this weekend worked out perfectly because Gary Dee and Colma had already planned to be home for an anniversary party for a friend. Peggy and Gary planned to be in also since Pound Heritage days was going on. Fortunately, Roger had planned his annual 4th of July cookout for Saturday and Erin had Andrew's 5th birthday party that evening. We were set for the two days Sarah was home!

Peggy called Thursday because she wasn't sure if we knew Gary Dee was coming home. Gary Dee had called Tim. In the meantime I knew I was going to cook diner Friday evening so I invited Gary Dee, Colma, Peggy and Gary. Of course Sarah had already put in her request...a garden meal. So, we had green beans, corn on the cob, cole slaw, fried yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and cornbread. I made a peach cobbler for dessert and served it with vanilla ice cream.

I stopped at the bottom of the hill and picked these black eyed susans which I had been eyeing forever but had never stopped to cut them.

I had every ceiling fan whirling because it was HOT again. In the upper 90's and humid. I couldn't live without my ceiling fans.

Friday afternoon was spent in the kitchen. I mixed up oatmeal raisin cookie dough to bake Saturday morning for Roger's cookout. Then made the rest of the food for dinner.

Sarah set the dining room table.

When Sarah spoke to Seth he said he planed to come over and when Peggy talked to Pete and he heard what I was making for dinner he invited himself. Of course I didn't mind. It was a privilege to feed Pete...even if he did come almost two hours late. Vintage Pete. He had been napping. :)

I thought we would go out to Jen's after dinner but they had gone to Flat gap to get ready for Andrew's party the next day so everyone stayed to visit. They sat around the table and told stories. I missed out hearing any but by the look on Sarah's face I would guess this was when Pete was telling "war" stories.

Tammy and her family had been gone but after they came back to Pound she, Elijah and Ean came up for awhile just as everyone else was leaving. Can you tell the boys had been swimming that day? After they left Seth stayed until almost 12:30 a.m. visiting and watching the Reds. They were playing on the west coast.

It was such a nice evening of visiting with family. It was so nice for just the four of us to sit around and visit too. That is rare these days. We got in the bed late but it was worth it.

Sarah's Room

I have been working upstairs a little today. We had taken the bookshelf off Sarah's desk and moved it over to the back window awhile back but all the stacked books, etc. were still on it. So, today I went up to figure out what to do with them. I thought I would end up stacking them in the playroom but i forgot about this random bookshelf at the top of the stairs. I ended up piling as many books as possible in it and then stacked Sarah's yearbooks in the playroom.

I was going to stack the yearbooks under the one spot under her bed they would fit but Gabby found that one spot for herself.

"Chocolate" got a new home on the window seat.

The desk with my sewing machine that I NEVER use. Hopefully sometime........

I also moved her nightstand over to the other side so when you walk into the room it looks better. I'll have to find some other piece for the other side.

And the dreaded playroom. All I have done in the past few months is pile it high. I am not looking forward to cleaning it out.

By nature I am a pretty organized person so it really drives me crazy that the playroom and then the attic beyond that are in such disarray but I guess even organized people have their "trouble" spots.

Christmas Ironstone

When we went to Roanoke last weekend Sarah finally gave me my Christmas present since we hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving. She bought it at an antique store in Southport, North Carolina when they were at Dan's parent's for Christmas. She sent me a picture of it when she bought it. But I had to wait. I had already picked out a spot in my dining room.  

I didn't take a picture of the marking on the back but it said, Ironstone China J&G Meakin Hanley England. I looked it up and found that the bowl was made between 1890 and 1906. I am amazed that it lasted. Just makes me wonder where it has been the last one hundred years.



Seth also bought me ironstone for Christmas because he knew I liked it. He had gone downtown to Rocky's antique store and asked about it. There was a piece but it didn't actually say ironstone. So, a couple of days before Christmas he was here for lunch. I saw him in the dining room hovering over the sugar cookies (or so I thought.) I asked him what he was doing and he said he was just looking at the cookies. I told him he could have one (I was saving them for our Christmas get together.) I noticed he didn't eat it all.

After I opened his present at Christmas he told me that day he had been in the dining room trying to look at my ironstone pieces to see the markings to compare to the piece at Rocky's. Of course everything was decorated for Christmas and was covered with greenery so he couldn't disturb anything.

I looked up the marking on this piece and found it was made around 1906. Again, I just can't believe it has lasted that long especially without the lid getting broken.

It was fun to look these pieces up on the Internet and read more about ironstone. I need to look up my other pieces to determine when they might have been made. I am going to be on the hunt for more of these really old pieces.



Trip to Roanoke

Since Dan had class in Roanoke over the weekend Tim and I drove up to spend Saturday with Sarah. We left around 6:45 a.m. to cloudy skies but thank goodness the skies cleared and it was a pretty day to drive. Chilly and windy though.

We made it to Sarah's motel and waited on her to come down. I had searched the Internet for shops, restaurants, etc. ahead of time. Luckily I found an estate sale on Craigslist only 2.7 miles from the motel so we went to it first. We just don't have many sales around here so I was so happy to get to go to an estate sale and was so hoping it was a good one. We found it easily and from the outside the house looked great. We walked in through a gorgeous old front door. As soon as I walked in the living room I spotted a set of white dishes. Now, all the sets of dishes I have seen at estate sales around here have always been priced very high. I picked up a creamer first and turned it over. Sure enough it said Royal Staffordshire Heirloom Meakin Ironstone. Cha-ching! I picked up a saucer and it was the same thing so I looked for a price. I could not believe the price when I saw it. I literally asked the person if the price was for all of it. Eight plates, five dessert plates, eight saucers, seven cups, seven bowls, a platter, a serving bowl, creamer and sugar bowl for $15! I couldn't believe my luck! I also spotted a pretty side table but it was priced $75. The person working the estate sale said I could make an offer on it. So, we continued looking through the house. There really wasn't much left. We walked around to the garage and looked at a few more items. When we went back in the house they were almost finished wrapping up the dishes and Sarah asked if they would take $50 for the table and they accepted. Yeah! He told us the table was eighty five years old. I believed him because I am gullible. ;)

After we left with our treasures (my treasures) we went downtown Roanoke to the Habitat Restore. I had found it via a website too. It was in an old building near the railroad tracks. It was interesting to walk through the old building but there wasn't anything we were interested in. There were some interesting items that reminded me to shop at a thrift store for our $5 gifts Chinese Christmas gifts next year.

Even though it was only 11:30 a.m. at this point we were hungry so we went for lunch. It pays to do your research when looking for a place to eat because when I saw the Habitat Restore on the website it also listed nearby restaurants. Lets just say if I hadn't googled it and read a couple of links we would have entered a spot that folks living an "alternative" lifestyle hang out. Haha, that would have been a hoot.

So, to  Macado's we went. I picked Dan's favorite sandwich~the Babe Ruth. Sarah had the Betty Boop and Tim had a classic burger. All were delicious and we left stuffed.

We back tracked a bit and found the The Roanoke Antique Mall which I had found online also. Personally I could spend hours looking through places like this. We meandered through half of it and Sarah baled out to sit. She had a slight headache so she had a cup of coffee. Tim and I went through a couple more rows and then Tim went to sit with Sarah while I covered the rest. It had 120 vendors and I thought most of the prices were reasonable. There were a few things I liked but the only thing we bought was an old milk bottle that said VIRGINIA DAIRY The Home of Better Milk. It was in orange and reminded us of UVA. I also picked up a little white creamer. If we find ourselves in Roanoke again I will definitely go back.

Sarah didn't have to pick Dan up from class until 4:30 p.m. so we found a Barnes and Noble to hang out at for our remaining time in Roanoke. Since it was attached to the mall we went out, found a spot and just sat and talked. Then headed back to the motel for Sarah to pick up her car, said our goodbyes and we headed back home.

Seems like we are greeted with gorgeous sunsets so many of our trips back down I81. This evening was no different.

We listened to Virginia's game against North Carolina on our drive home. It was a great game but the Hoos just couldn't pull it out. They lost by three.

Yesterday I took a few photos of my estate sale finds. I also googled the mark to see what I could find. The best I could find was that the dishes were probably made between 1974-1977 in Stoke, Staffordshire, England. This came from an ebay listing. My creamer and sugar bowl.

Set of dishes awaiting washing. I plan to put them in my dining room hutch.

The 85 year old table. I wiped it down with an oil/vinegar mixture to refresh the wood. I am going to use it as a nightstand on Tim's side of the bed.

I google the milk bottle but couldn't come up with much. It was probably from a Richmond dairy.

Love the orange Virgina!!

Since Dan has over a year left with his MBA program he and Sarah will be traveling to Roanoke every other month so I am sure we'll be back up there to visit some time in the future. Hopefully, next time it will be warmer though.