The Mother of all Rummage Sales

So, what else besides pretty tea cups did I get at the Visiting Nurses Association Rummage Sale?


Here, on this rainy Tuesday morning -- the 5th one in a row, with more to come! -- I'm going to show you. . . .

It's Three Or More Tuesday, hosted by Tam at The Gypsy's Corner.
Click here to visit.

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I love pressed glass, and this bowl, at $4, just begged to come to Mama:

When I bring homemade cookies or big fat strawberries or some other small offering to a friend, I like to pack them in pretty bowls, and they become part of the gift. Glass bowls are great for this -- they go with everyones' colors!

I also love old hotel silverplated flatware; it's so big and heavy. Here, elegantly displayed on one of my kitchen towels, is service for 8 (minus 2 forks!) in hotel plate (not yet polished and looking oddly yellow):

This flatware bears an uncanny resemblance to my old everyday stainless -- but here are the dinner forks from each set, the stainless and the hotel plate -- you can see the hotel fork is much larger, and it's heavier also. I like that chunky feel:

Hmm... bad photography, sorry. The tines of the hotel plate fork are sort of lost.
Trust me, it's a lot bigger!

Next . . .

A sweet old lustreware teapot, also $4, well-used and mellow:

and just the right colors to cozy in with my lustreware pieces from my Mom and Mother-in-law:

I have a feeling my daughter Annie may lay claim to this tea pot, but that's OK.

My husband, who by the way made an excellent pack animal
for Saturday's drizzly excursion, saw this framed print:

Howard loves boats and fishing. This will end up in our study; the colors are right and I know he'll enjoy seeing it, and remembering the thrill of the thrifting hunt. I hope I am not creating a monster. One crazy thrift buyer in a family may be enough!

As for me, this compote leapt into my arms:

It's red or ruby flash glass, and it's in perfect condition.

It's signed one one side of the pedestal:

If you tilt the pedestal, the signature will change from red, to gold. The red dye used in this glassware has gold in it, which you can see in certain light. I am not sure if that's the signature of the maker, the former owner, or what.

See the gold reflecting in the red?

I don't know much about this glassware, so when I got home I did some online research.
What would we do without Google?


On the Ruby Lane Antiques site, an identical compote is offered for sale -- for $110. It is by Westmoreland, in their Waterford or Wakefield pattern, and the "1977" in the signature is probably about when it was made.

I paid much, much less for mine. Ain't thrifting fun?

If you are curious about the one for sale at Ruby Lane, you can click here and check it out.

Welcome to the dining room, Miss Ruby!

And now I am going to read some other blogs on this soggy day, and then perhaps set about building an ark. I'm thinking pressure treated lumber and a pet waste incinerator might be good modifications to the Noah blueprint.
-- Cass