Mystery Glass And A Peacock's (Fill In The Rhyming Body Part)

Do you know what kind of glass this is?

Neither do I.

It used to belong to my friend Emily's grandmother.

 It's white, opaque, and once upon a time it was decoratively painted.

And it looks as if it had a stopper.  Which makes it some sort of bottle or decanter.

 Lots of raised design.

Clearly, it has seen better days, but it has -- for me -- real charm.

What could I put in it?

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There are sculpture gardens around Princeton, New Jersey.

Some pretty fierce critters roam there, inspiring fear in all.

You don't believe me?  Check this out, and don't blame me if you have nightmares from the terror:

A Peacock, strolling past a window.  He lulls us into a false sense of safety.

He looks as harmless and delicate as a supermodel on the runway.

 He's got his Baby Mama with him, and he's feeling pretty, well, pea-cocky.

But he espies intruders, and launches his terrifying defensive maneuvers.

 "I open my giant tail, and shake it at you."

 "Why do you not run away

from the hundreds of quivering eyes?"

Then, disaster.

A chance gust of wind, and our Hero's defenses flip around, and he finds himself mooning the intruders.

There is no recourse now but to retreat to the safety of a gazebo rooftop,

to nurse hurt feelings in the wake of such humiliation.

He must leave the defense of the homeland to Lars, his ne'er-do-well cousin.

Lars decides to skip the whole shake-my-scary-tail-at-you routine,

and go get a Carvel.

And if you don't know what "getting a Carvel" means, you did not grow up around here.

But we won't hold that against you.

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Thanks to Alida and Josh, for the peacock pictures, from March 2011,

when they were in New Jersey to plan their June 2011 wedding.  Nice work, kids!  -- Cass

It's Wednesday!

Visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.  Clicketh here.

Kathleen at Faded Charm hosts White Wednesday.  Click here, my peeps.

Old Stuff, New Stuff, More Old Stuff

Just a couple of miles from That Old House,
on a well-traveled local road, is this:

 A barn --

empty, its boards gray and weathered, in the manner of old barn wood.

The barn grew with its farm, form following function,

addition tacked onto addtion.

The whole thing, barn and setting, ragged and raw, looks right.

I think the vines and scrub trees are helping it stand up.

The barn is part of the landscape now; it looks at home.

Across the street, on this barn's old farm land, are these:

Some people call these McMansions.

Unless you live in one, in which case you call it home.

Time.  It sure can change the crop that's springs up on farmland.

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On Sunday, Howard and I bought a really sweet little kidney-shaped

ladies' desk, and managed to squeeze it into my tiny antiques booth:

It is in such perfect 1930s original shape, the mahogany with great patina,

and even the leather top is intact and gorgeous:

Anyway -- I thought I had already done a post
on the things my friend Emily and I chased around all over New Jersey 
to pick up a week ago, and bring to the booth.

But it turns out, I had not.
Doh.
So, here it is -- the stuff we got last Tuesday.

From an elderly gentleman moving into assisted living, a little carved corner cabinet:

It's just so danged cute and small -- dainty, really.  It would look wonderful painted creamy white.

Or pink.  Yes, pink -- for a little girl's room.  Can't you see dolls on it?

At one of my favorite thrift shops, a nicely scaled open cupboard.
Old antiqued green, red, gold paint.
Chipped from use, not from "hey, let's make this chippy" efforts.
At the thrift shop:

Here it is, held hostage in my mini-van.
I thought I could fit both this cupboard AND the washstand I'd bought into the van, together.
But . . . no.  Reminder: measure first.
Two trips.  It was a long Tuesday, last week.  Thank goodness Emily is a good sport!

 At the booth.

Next . . . an old lift-top washstand.
Here it is, at the thrift shop:

This is also sometimes called a "commode," but it is not what some people think of when they
hear the word "commode," which is my long and euphemistic way of saying, "This is not a potty."

At the booth:

I put a small, subtle sign on it, by way of explanation.
When the top is lifted, there's space inside for a bowl-and-pitcher.
The little drawer on the left would have held toiletries -- razor, soap, etc.
The door underneath hid a slop jar, for used wash water.

I love the pine in this wash stand.

These were the en suite bathrooms of their day.

And speaking of old things . . . 
here's a picture of my favorite antique, posing with the wash stand, lifting its top, at the booth on Sunday:

He is not for sale.
I had to hang a "for display only" sign on him.
The ladies were just linin' up.

Have a lovely Tuesday, my friends -- Cass

Link Parties!

At Bluff Area Daily Blog, it is time for Barn Charm, a weekly blog party.  Click here!

Coastal Charm is the place to be for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.  Click here!

Spring and Snow From Long Ago

Two years ago, on Thursday, March 4, 2010,
we had snow on the ground.  A lot.  And more to come.
Spring Fever hits hard when you have endured a rough winter -- as we learned in both 2010 and 2011 --
but this winter has been so mild that Spring Fever is almost just a dim memory.

I'm reviving that memory, with a re-run of a two-year-old post.

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Welcome to a Springtime Table at That Old House . . . 

with colors and shapes right out of Mr. McGregor's Garden.

(from Thursday, March 4, 2010)

The setting: the old oak table in the conservatory, with a sheer tablecloth,

a vintage gift from my mother-in-law, folded over and tossed on to give a light and gauzy covering.

In the center, a gathering of Spring . . . .

Place settings of Mikasa Ribbon Pink china, an Ebay find that belongs to my daughter Anne.
But who brings such pretty china to grad school? Mama is keeping it safe at home.

Is Mrs. Bunny staring at me?

A stomach's eye view -- dinner and soup plates, old Irish linen napkin,
old Georgian silverplate flatware (1912).

Irish crystal stemware.

In the center of the table, an asparagus tureen.
From Tuesday Morning shop, two summers ago. I had looked at it on several trips,
and finally one day my daughter Anne went into the store, came out to the car carrying a box,
handed it to me and said, "Here it is. You know you want it. You owe me $15."

A hurricane candle, a gift from my very dear friend Betsy.
I love the etched cranberry glass shade, and the swirled pewter base.

Roses! A soft and creamy pink, and nestled in an asparagus pitcher
from a now-defunct store named Bradlee's,
back in the Year One when my girls still rode in the shopping cart while I browsed.

My favorite bunny, a sweet crackle-glazed matron who stays out all year,
because Easter is just not long enough for me to enjoy Mrs. Bunny. She is so matronly and comforting.
Especially when she has black jelly beans in her basket! Today, it's just healthy grapes.

A cut crystal fairy lamp, Gorham, a gift from my mother-in-law. (Who gives me the sweetest things.)

Our place settings. What shall we put on those plates?

I'm still checking Ebay occasionally for more pieces of this pretty china.

Mikasa Ribbon Pink ... let me know if you spot any!

Ebay again . . . old linen runner, hand embroidered and edged in hand crocheted lace.
Can you resist old hand made linens? I can't.

Outside, it is snowing.

Inside, it is warm and dry, and we light the candles as night draws in,
as people have done for centuries when darkness falls.

Pull up a chair, watch the snow,
then take heart that the season for bunnies and asparagus is almost here! -- Cass

So Who Has Brown Transferware NOW, huh?

Every time I see a blog post that
features brown and white transferware china, I pout.

Because I don't have any.
Only now, I do.

Thanks to Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and New Jersey.

I don't have a lot of it.  And I'm not saying it's old and valuable.

But 4 dinner plates in Meakin's Fair Winds pattern

for just a few bucks is fine by me.  It's a start.  Don't tell Howard.

He gets nervous when I say things like, "It's a start . . . ." 

While at Goodwill, I also snatched up 4 pieces of china in the

Finlandia pattern, because who doesn't love blue and white?

Some are Myott, some Churchill.   All are pretty.

And then a little bit of dull silver caught my eye.

Lookee here:

A 1950s aluminum Lazy Susan, working condition, and in good shape

for an old gal who's taken more than a few spins 'round the block in her time.

 (No, I don't mean me.  I'm not in as good shape as Susan here.)

 She doesn't have her glass insert for the middle of the Lazy Susan, but most

of these old relics don't.  Glass breaks, especially when it's spinning around on a piece of metal.

But I experimented, and it's amazing how many other dishes fit nicely in that center dip.

I think this piece is headed for the booth after a good cleaning.

Anyway, that was Thursday's trip to Goodwill, while I was waiting for Dion to finish up at the groomer's.

On Friday I worked at the antiques center.  I haven't spent much time at all at the computer this week. 

My bad -- Cass