Dished Up

I tell you, it only takes a short period of not being able to drive to really begin to appreciate the privilege! In fact, I've said for years that the best things about heading into “second childhood” (that rather condescending phrase) is that you get to be playful AND you can drive, unlike first childhood. So that period when my faux knee was still too new and painful to let me get behind the wheel lasted about half of forever.

But I'm back! And you know where my wheels would just naturally be heading – shopping on driveways. I ventured out with Judy a couple of Fridays ago (she actually drove that time) to a few sales, and only bought at one. It was the same folks down the street from my house where I bought 5 pairs of great shoes last year for a buck a pair (Danskos and Keens – who would pass up that deal?) I was much more restrained this year…I only bought 4 pairs of great shoes for a buck apiece! Keens, Danskos, Sketchers, 

and this cute summer pair. 

Plus I splurged fifty cents on a framed original watercolor. I know, I know, ever the big spender!

But today I actually did splurge, because I fell in love. With some dishes. Because about 3 days ago I was putting my clean dishes away from the dishwasher, and this little vagrant thought passed through my mind. Which was that while I quite like the dishes I bought a year and a half ago in anticipation of moving into my own house, I didn’t necessarily need to have a lifetime commitment to them. One of the great things about living alone is that I have only myself to please in these domestic matters.

As I made my rounds this morning, mostly on the west side of town, I was finding nothing of interest to bring home. But I was really enjoying myself because I was listening to a terrific recorded book, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. If you haven’t read it, run to your library today and check it out. Fascinating stuff. All about how we make fast judgments and decisions, and how they can be more reliable than well-deliberated ones. So it was undoubtedly being under the influence of this book that made me spot a woman at a sale and instantly think “I bet she’s a fun person.” As I got out of the car I wondered if I'd get a chance to test my snap judgment.

Well, all three ladies running the sale were great, friendly and outgoing (a middle aged daughter, her mom and grandmother). I heard one of them giving the entire history of a bicycle that had come into the family in 1971. You know how I love that kind of background. I wasn’t seeing anything to bring home with me until I reached a table full of fabric in the back of the garage, and since I recently did a major purge in my studio and have room again on my fabric shelves, I treated myself to this pretty piece, two yards for two bucks.

As I was leaving, I got into conversation with the mom, who asked me about the sweater I was wearing. It's an upcycle I created a while back, starting with an Irish linen sweater I picked up long ago. 

She noticed details that no one has ever seen before, so of course I thought she was brilliant! She’s now on the search for a similar cardigan to remake for herself (since I declined to hand over mine!) because she’s in a vintage golf group that only used old clubs and dresses in vintage-ish clothing to play. She was the one I'd made my snap judgment on, and I was absolutely spot on!

Made a couple more fruitless stops after that, both of which had fairly steep driveways – I was glad I had my cane with me. (Rehab is going great, but I'm still being pretty careful.) The last sale on my list didn’t look like they had much, but there was a cute dog wagging at me, and I make it a point always to stop for a cute dog. Apparently what this cute dog was trying to signal to me was “Get over here! There are some dishes on that table you are going to LOVE!”

He was so right. Gorgeous dishes, Wallis by Goebels of Germany (yes, the folks that made Hummel figurines for so many years). 

I was immediately smitten by their beauty, noted that the set has more pieces than the one I've been using (including a teapot, creamer, sugar bowl, and jam pot, as well as very cool bowls), 

and after the world’s shortest negotiation over price (would you take --? Yes!) they were mine. Not only that, the lady selling them gave me a big hug because she had so hoped the right person would come along who would love them – and there I was.

Don’t you love it when you can make someone’s day? And they make yours?