Turkey Platter

Thanksgiving is a week away and I hadn't even put my turkey platter out until I read this post on another blog. I dug it out from underneath my other platters and displayed it in the dining room. I love this platter and I don't know why I hadn't gotten it out yet. Maybe because I didn't really do hardly any fall decorating. Maybe because I don't have Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Maybe because Sarah won't be in for Thanksgiving. Nah, I think it was laziness.

 

This turkey platter is special because Tim bought it for me years ago for Christmas. He heard me say one time how fabulous it would be to have a large turkey platter. So, even though I don't think he hears everything I say he obviously does listen and hears the important stuff!! He found this Royal Staffordshire Clarice Cliff turkey platter on ebay. It is rather large and I had trouble finding a stand to display it. I'm not sure it will ever have a turkey on it but I certainly plan to make sure I display it every year for now on. If for nothing else but to remember that Tim listens and hears what I say!! :)

 

 

 

A Good Day

Tim and I got up early Saturday morning to go to an estate sale in Appalachia, specifically Derby. Derby is one of the old coal camps over there. I intended to take my camera with me because I joked with Tim that I was going to take a picture of the gas prices. It was $2.97 in Wise!! I think the highest it got here at one time was $3.65 so I hope it continues to fall. Unfortunately I forgot my camera and we forgot the cell phone too. Well, wouldn't you know we saw something that I honestly can't imagine seeing again in my lifetime. Ugh! I was so disappointed I didn't have my camera or at least the cell phone. We took the "old" road between Norton and Appalachia and beside the road in a wide spot was a bear! It was in a straight stretch so we were able to stop and roll down the window and watch her. How did we know it was a her? After a minute of watching her dig around in the gravel beside the road we saw a little paw under the guard rail and then two bear cubs came out from the woods!! It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Luckily there wasn't any traffic so we were able to watch them for about three minures or so. The cubs stayed underneath their mama the whole time. We blew the horn to scare them before we drove off and the cubs scurried back to the woods. Outside of a zoo I can't imagine I would be fortunate enough to see a mama bear and her cubs ever again. I am bummed I wasn't able to take a picture but so thankful that God allowed us to see them.

So, on to the estate sale we drove. We had driven up to another coal camp, Stonega a year and a half ago when we went to another estate sale in Appalachia so I was excited to drive up to Derby. It didn't disappoint. There were lots of company houses which had been refurbished. It's so interesting seeing a community like that and imagining what it would have been like to have lived there back in the day when coal companies owned the homes and everyone worked for the companies. We got to the estate sale by 8:30 a.m. and luckily they let us go in even though it wasn't supposed to start until nine. Neither one of us even noticed what the old house looked like on the outside. Guess we were excited to see the inside. ;)

This was the second day of the sale so I figured it would be a bit picked over. I guess it was but I couldn't hardly tell because there was still a lot of stuff. Even though I keep telling myself I am not going to buy anymore ironstone except old ironstone from England with markings I could resist a set of dishes. I'm sure they would be classified as "ironstone" but they had no markings. There was only one coffee cup so I guess that is what was used through the years and the others had probably been broken. I think I can get some use out of the dessert plates and bowls. We also picked up some small dessert bowls that were seperate and three jars with little stars around the rim that would have had jam but could be used as juice glasses now. I plan to use them as little vases for the 4th of July or any patriotic holiday or event.

We bought this tool box for $1.50. I'm not sure where I'll put this but it was kinda cool looking and I've seen a lot of people around the blogosphere buy them.

We found a box of old Christmas ornaments. I couldn't make up my mind whether to spend $15 on them or not. I had set a self imposed limit of $25 to spend and this box put us up to $40. I carried them around and kept thinking about it. I think Tim put it best when he said, "Either obsess about spending the money or obsess about not buying them." He knows me so well. I bought them.

After three walk throughs we were ready to go. Yes, three. We like to look and I always love looking at the homes. This home had wide wood moldings, large windows, plaster walls and high ceilings. I love to look at older homes.

After we left the estate sale we drove by Asaka and through Rhoda, two other old coal camps. Seriously, they are the coolest things ever. We could tell a couple of the large homes would have been the homes of the bosses. Then we had to get back to reality and go to Walmart to pick up a few things. We headed home and tried to stay in all day because the temperature hit 99 degrees. Seth came over and watched the Reds game with us and ate a burger.

I talked to Sarah on the phone as I unwrapped my treasures. There was some severe weather, especially wind Friday night in Virginia and other states but fortunately it missed us. There were over three million people without power including Dan and Sarah in Falls Church. Luckily their power came back on Saturday afternoon. Many people will be out up to a week. I can't imagine being wthout air conditioning and ceiling fans in this stifling heat. I am so thankful for these "luxuries." It really makes me think of how other folks live, not just people in other countries but some people here in this country don't have air conditioning. Makes me feel a bit spoiled in a way.

We don't have any plans for the 4th of July. Tim will be off work so I guess it will seem like a Saturday to us. Sarah is coming home Friday and leaving Sunday morning. Dan has class in Roanoke. Luckily Roger's annual "4th of July" cookout is on Saturday so we'll drive over to Kingsport for it. Gary Dee and Colma will be in for the weekend as well as Peggy and Gary. Pound Heritage days will be going on. John Patrick and Elijah both have Little League tournaments in Lee County so I'm not sure what our weekend plans will be besides Roger's cookout. Guess we'll play it by ear. ;)

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.