THRIFT SHOP TREASURES

(Click picture for close-up view)

With gas prices high, I've curtailed the day trips that I used to enjoy. I no longer travel winding backroads leading to parts unknown. I used to search for quaint little shops, but I don't do that now. I haven't been buying much of anything, except groceries and gasoline. I'm trying to simplify my life and downsize the amount of "stuff" I keep. I've also sworn off trips to thrift stores and crafts shops - well, pretty much.

I usually resist the temptation to stop and browse in those shops because there is truly nothing I need. I no longer seek out vintage cookware, old quilts, or primitive decorations to use in creating craft items to sell, so there's really no reason to stop and shop. Today, for some reason, the thrift stores in town were calling to me. Although I didn't need anything, the possibility of finding a treasure or two seemed exciting and I did indeed find some goodies. Most of them came from the Salvation Army Thrift Store, which is located dangerously close to the JoAnn Fabrics store in town.

I found a small hand-quilted wall hanging (signed by the quilter), a hand-sewn primitive doll, a pottery Christmas plate (hand thrown and signed by the potter), and a log cabin birdhouse which has a nest inside. The birdhouse will look perfect outside my cabin door. I also found a little wooden scoop I'll add to the others I display in the Grandma Corner of my cabin.

Other treasures I couldn't resist included a old quilted pin cushion, a musical Christmas snowglobe in perfect condition and in the original box, a six-inch vintage glass plate, a Christmas plate decorated with Cardinals and hollyberries, which I'll give to my mother who collects Cardinals, and a yellow crock with its original lid. The crock isn't old, but it perfectly matches a yellow bowl I found on an earlier treasure hunt. A splatterware teapot with a black crow on the front was also found on an earlier trip to the thrift shop and is signed on the bottom. Two items I forgot to add to the others in the picture were small original painted items from a local artist.

At first I thought it was sad to find original handiworks from people whose names I recognized, but then I decided whoever donated them had already enjoyed them. I'll now have the opportunity to treasure them until I'm ready to send them to another home. In all, I spent $13.63 and smiled all the way to my van.