Some vintage finds

I mentioned in passing last week that I was thinking of going antiquing. I had thought of going Friday, but wound up going Saturday (partly after Duty told me "It would really be preferable, you know, if you graded those exams FIRST, and what's more, you can stick around in your office and make it known you're there in case the students have last-minute questions regarding the big paper due Monday." And Grumpy added: "Yes, because if you're around until 4 pm on a Friday, outside your normal office hours, none of them can jolly well gripe about you being unavailable to answer any questions." As it was, one person showed up but her question was minor, and she had essentially already answered it for herself and just wanted my confirmation that a p value of .07 or so would be considered statistically non-significant. (Well, it might not be in the social sciences, but we're the natural sciences, and we do things a bit differently).

So Saturday, after the Ponies. (I had to watch the new episode. And I was happy that the episode I missed while in transit was replayed. And "Babs Seed," heh. And also, I have to note the true-to-childhood bit that the bullied child often turns around and picks on those "below" herself. I did it myself, to my undying embarrassment and shame as an adult...by golly, I should have KNOWN better. I should have KNOWN how it felt.... And as for the second episode, I'll just observe: I don't GET the Brony love for Trixie. Is it that she has a cool color scheme? (Though I think Luna's is cooler). To me, Trixie just seems like every boastful mean girl that alternately tormented and bored me in junior high. Again, Luna is cooler because she did evil things (or at least threatened to) in her past, but repented, made good, and is now a "good guy." Or is there some kind of love of "bad girls" analogous to the much-vaunted girls-loving-bad-boys thing? (Though I will note: I never loved the "bad boys" and was much more likely to try to catch the attention of the nerd, figuring that (a) he could at least carry on an intelligent conversation and (b) he was unlikely to laugh in my face when I approached. Also in my experience nerds seemed to be greatly underappreciated: not only could they carry on intelligent conversation, but many of them were also VERY funny and clever if you gave them a chance, and there's just something about a guy who can make me laugh. Also, many of them turned out to be genuinely kindhearted people, and that definitely counts for something).

Anyway. I wound up only going to two places, that was all I needed to visit. So I was able to cut my trip shorter and not run into downtown Sherman. I was also able to find all the food-type items I needed at the SuperTarget, which saved a trip to the Kroger's. And yes, the SuperTarget was kind of a zoo, it being the first of the month AND being during the holiday shopping season. And there were the obligatory kids-having-meltdowns in the toy aisle, which again just strikes me as weird. When I was a kid, and it was December? If I saw a toy I wanted, my mom would tell me to add it to my Santa list...and I dutifully would, and sometimes I would get that very toy. I think if I had fussed I would have been warned about Santa watching. I suppose some today would consider that a bad parenting move, but then again, I'm not sure letting your kid scream it out in the Lego aisle is necessarily any better.

I did wind up picking up a toy to drop in the local Toys for Tots box....I have kind of a casual tradition of picking out a toy that I think I would have liked as a kid (or that I wish as an adult had existed when I was a child) and donating it. This year, I bought the "Rainbow Ponies Set" (of course). Because it's ponies! And it's glitter! And the Target version comes with stickers! And you get the entire Mane Six at one go!  I also picked out a women's fleece jacket - our CWF group does a gift-donation to the local women's and children's shelter. I usually pick a gift for a woman because it seems like most other people bring toys, and while it's probably more important that a kid having to stay in a shelter gets a fun gift....still, it's nice for the women to get a gift, too. (And again, the old oddity I've noticed: when I got home, there was a check in my mailbox, refunding the part of my October blood-testing that I had paid for, and then my insurance stepped in and paid for. I was not expecting that, no one at the hospital had said, "Your insurance might pay for part of this, so look for a refund," I just thought the $100 or so I was paying was what my co-pay was, so again, it makes me wonder a bit).

But, the ultimate purpose of the trip was to go antiquing. It had been too long since I did so. I love going antiquing because you never know what you may find. Though, really, strictly speaking, I generally don't buy "antiques" in the strict sense - really, to be an antique, something must be in excess of 100 years old (that is: made before 1912). It's possible the first item I bought was that old, but I don't know for sure.

The first thing I was looking for was a vinegar cruet. Because I use vinegar a lot as a flavoring now, and often add it at table. Well, vinegar cruets turn out not to be so hard to find. I probably saw a total of five or six, but the very first one I saw was like what I had pictured in my mind. It was labeled "blown glass" but the price and the design (and what feels like a seamline on the handle) much more strongly suggest pressed glass to me. Not that it matters; this is to be a functional piece. I bought it and brought it home and washed it, first with soap and water, and then with vinegar (it may have been used for some other purpose, like as a bud vase; there was a calcium-deposit ring in the bottom which the vinegar cleaning removed).



The design on it resembles some 1950s era pressed glass my grandmother had, so it could be as late as then, I suppose.

That was what I really went intending to buy, but I always find other stuff I want.

Like this:



It's kind of goofy, and yet at the same time, it makes me smile. (The candles did not come with it; they were purchased later at Target). I don't know how old this is; it's fairly heavy and is chromed. I suppose as early as the 1960s but as late as the 1980s is my best guess. No, I don't plan on lighting the candles, though if the power happens to go out, I probably will.

I also found a vintage glass canning jar (the kind with a bail and rubber ring, and a glass lid) full of little plastic toys. I debated getting it (it was $12.50) until I saw this one in there....



It's Henrietta Hippo! From New Zoo Revue! Which was my favorite tv show when I was like 3 or 4. I didn't even know they made toys from the show. So I had to buy it for Henrietta. (There was also a cute panda in there that is now in the decorations under my Christmas tree. And an old Mr. Peanut figurine. And a couple of tiny baby dolls. And a Buddy L figurine that looks like he's a lumberjack, which of course prompted me to sing the song when I pulled it out of the jar. (And I got to keep the jar, too).

Alas, there was no Charlie the Owl or Freddie the Frog in there, but maybe sometime in the future I will find them.