Tag Archives: antiques

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A day of antiquing … part 1.

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It was a beautiful clear, cool day and I wanted to take a drive along the coast. So of course we went antique shopping instead.

And were greeted by some very pricey little green men at our first stop.

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$950 per seemed a tad high to me. But you have to admit they’d spark more conversation than that coffee table book about the Renaissance.

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This first store was overloaded with crap. And my husband dove right in.

Disagree with my crap description? Think the store was actually filled with treasure?

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There was a stack of cardboard rose boxes for floral delivery. All empty.

Treasure me that.

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Chairs?

There were a few.

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The only thing I liked was this Grateful Dead 40 year anniversary poster but the hubs wouldn’t let me hang it in the man cave so there it stayed.

Did he leave the store empty handed?

Please.

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He bought this old wagon wheel jack (left) and placed it next to his other old wagon wheel jack (right) in the barn.

If only we had a wagon….

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Progress? How can you tell…

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Another area of the crap mausoleum cellar is being cleared in preparation for work and there’s one extremely heavy item in the way.

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This time, I can’t even blame my husband.

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The rather odd looking wood stove was here when we moved in 21 years ago, and here it has stayed. We tried selling it at a yard sale years ago but there were no takers. I’m guessing if we ever sell our house? It will be our parting gift to the new owners as well. Why break tradition.

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Farther along there’s a large pile of tires. Do they… or did they ever…. fit one of our vehicles? No. But they’re resting on a nice fluffy piece of quilt stuffing so at least they’re comfortable.

🥴

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In keeping with the old, rusty, inoperable and weighs a ton theme? Another adding machine.

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Buried in the back.. next to the extra refrigerator we didn’t need but he bought anyway.. is a nice old toboggan. Why? Just because he could.

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Does the husband have a few old Life magazines?

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I’d like to tell you that’s all of them.

I really would.

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Looking back, the far right corner is done.

Not that you can see it through all the junk of course.

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The motherload continued…

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A few more oddities from our antique store stroll.

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Because you never know when you’ll need a personal, portable steam engine on wheels. It can be yours for a mere $4,000.

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I have no explanation for that.

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Proof positive everything can be made into a lamp… whether it should be is another issue entirely.

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We almost can home with this corn cutter.

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The fact that it was on sale required closer examination.

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I was all for putting this little dude in the man cave/Barn Mahal but the husband disagreed.

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Truth in advertising is a rare thing.

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Antique motherload.

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Still in search of that last vintage beer/alcohol crate for my vinyl, the husband and I headed to a massive antique mall in Oxford.

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And I have to say we were blown away. Parts of it had the normal antique mall booths with multiple vendors and then there was this room.

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Which was really more of a museum. Those vintage hand painted sleds were da bomb.

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There were some truly fabulous items.

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With fabulous prices to accompany them. We spent hours just in that one room. And then we moved on..

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My husband probably has a dozen of these old glass water bottles and frames, but that never stops him from looking for number 13.

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I nixed the idea of hanging that on the Barn Mahal door.

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Husband wanted to buy all these Trump dollars and use them to start our next fire, but I couldn’t stand the thought of that man riding all the way home with us even if I knew he’d end up in the ash pile.

To be continued..

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Antiquing and the Old Red Mill

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You knew there had to be some antique shopping on our trip.

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The husband refused to let me purchase this pair of chicken rocking chairs… even though I knew they’d be great on the barn porch. The $2,000 price tag might have had something to do with that.

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This old advertisement made us cringe. Clearly 666 didn’t have the same connotation back in the day.

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But look, it cured everything from headache to constipation . What’s not to love?

We hit a few stores and were about to call it quits but then, from the corner of my eye….

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A beer crate! At an extremely affordable $25 price. I was thrilled and I think the store owner was so happy to sell something he gave me these two vintage wooden darts (with real feathers) for free.

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Score!

Later in the day we arrived at our destination.

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The Old Red Mill in Jericho.

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A picturesque, well preserved piece of the past.

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One half the building houses a lovely gift store filled with crafts from local artists.

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And I liked the way they left the original mill works in place.

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In hindsight I really should have bought this book.

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Probably some decent blog fodder there.

But it was the other half of the building that I’d actually come to see.

To be continued…

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Downtown Littleton, antiquing and some seriously good beer.

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Every time we stay in the White Mountains of New Hampshire we try to explore a new town. This trip it was Littleton….

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A charming place with a delightfully quirky downtown area.

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They’ve been voted Best American Main Street numerous times and once you stroll around… it’s easy to see why.

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Of course when you’re strolling with my husband that means ducking into every antique store you see.

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Clearly this fellow takes his wine selection seriously.

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But wait… what’s that on the floor in the back?

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Weeee! Another vintage alcohol related crate for my vinyl collection. I paid more for this one than any of the others, but we haggled 20% off and there’s no sales tax in New Hampshire so I’m calling it a win.

Husband doing the dishes in our resort condo as well? Score!!!

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Heading to the riverfront area we discovered a pedestrian covered bridge.

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Which afforded some great views..

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And that old red building with the waterwheel on the left?

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Turned out to be Schilling brewery which made yours truly very happy.

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They kept the feel of the old mill with a rustic interior…

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And served a fabulous wood fired artisan pizza with chicken, bacon, cheese, spinach, tart apples and maple syrup. Sound weird? Yes… but it was heavenly.

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As was their beer, which they take very seriously. The bartender was extremely knowledgeable and quizzed you before you chose. It wasn’t pass or fail, but it definitely resulted in him pouring you the perfect beer suited to your tastes.

My liquid ambrosia this visit? Schlaumeier – a Hefeweizen (wheat beer) with delicate notes of banana and clove. It sounds bizarre was positively grand.

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A flea market bust but a brew pub win.

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My husband heard about a large flea market in Fryeburg , Maine… and since the 90 minute drive did not deter him, over to the western part of the state we went.

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There was indeed a flea market, but that’s the only good thing I can say about it. Yes, there were a few antiques scattered here and there… but mostly it was tacky new merchandise. Like this:

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Clearly Barbie has reached menopause age.

It was hot as hell that day with no breeze whatsoever and that made me cranky. The only thing that made me smile?

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Martian chauffeurs.

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After a few fruitless hours of my husband searching for treasure and me searching for shade, we left empty handed. And since it was well past lunchtime and I’d worked up a terrible thirst.. there was only one place to go. The penultimate brew pub.

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If you don’t know where it is, you’ll never find it… tucked away down a narrow wooded residential road, alongside a golf course in a quiet town near the border of New Hampshire called Lovell .

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The barn is the pub, and there’s outdoor seating as well.

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If you’ve never heard of Ebenezer’s? Good. That means more beer for me.

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But if you live in New England, chances are you know this award winning shrine to suds. A visit there never disappoints.

To be continued….

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Antiquing in Brewer… continued.

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While my husband doesn’t like those crafty, shabby chic types of antique stores… he does love the kind I hate.

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The ones with massive piles of disorganized, rusted and abandoned crap that are more suited to a trash pile.

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Veritable junk yards is what they are… kitchen sink and bathroom tub included.

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But he happily pokes around, just knowing there’s a buried treasure there somewhere.

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Thankfully he didn’t find any here.

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Though he did give that industrial bread rack a hard look.

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Antiquing in the Brewer area.

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I can always tell when my husband isn’t going to like an antique store.

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You know the type…. filled with shabby chic and crafty things. He cruises through those stores quickly and rarely enjoys himself,

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Until he turned a corner in this one and saw the shredded wheat crate he’d just purchased for $25…

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(Yes, he collects wooden yard sticks. Don’t ask.) ….was selling for $125.

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Then? He was a fan.

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And chuckled at a few things.

Especially the creative way the owners of this old schoolhouse decided to deal with their roof leak.

New shingles? Not exactly.

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Indoor guttering.

Odd… but you have to admit, it is interesting.

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Treasure… part 2.

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More ephemera for the collection.

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WWII gas ration book, Army Air Corps ( precursor to the Air Force) birthday card and a warning from Uncle Sam.

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Vintage political.

And then there was this strange little booklet about the different lodges. When you read it, start with the number on the top… it’s a countdown.

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I’ll spare you the entire book…

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Long live the Elks! They know how to hold their liquor.

And finally, my personal favorite…

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An ad from the St. Louis chemical company famous for its miracle cures and odd skeleton graphics. Many products contained quinine and heroin but this particular flyer is for Antikamnia. The formula varied over the years but the main ingredient was acetanilide, a coal tar derivative which caused cyanosis… turning patient’s extremities blue from a lack of oxygen. Deaths were reported as early as 1891. No miracle there I’m afraid.

The flip side.

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