Vacation

The hubs was on vacation for 8 blissful days. He went back to work, but I'm still dragging my feet about getting anything done. It's been very rainy, cloudy, windy and overcast, and I'm being a big baby about it. Uninspired, lazy bones.

But the vacation itself was pretty fun. In the modern vernacular, I guess this was a "staycation". No exciting trips to far away locales, but we did however check out some antique stores in the area we hadn't visited before.

Old brick downtowns are quite possibly one of my favorite things ever. I absolutely adore them. My hometown still has one. My mom's hometown is about 20 miles away, and it is even smaller and more unchanged.

And one thing is for sure: There are still places that are semi-untouched from an antiques standpoint. Places where you can still buy Jadeite and Fire King mugs for more like 5 or 10 dollars, instead of crazy ebay prices. I certainly wouldn't guarantee they'd be the rarities, but at least they aren't priced for the Japanese market.

And as usual, I spent too much money. Between the antique stores and a few thrift stops, I added no less than 13 plates to my various collections.

And honestly, I need 13 more plates like I need 13 pet raccoons. *But* I can say that the plates are significantly less trouble.

I added 6 cobalt blue Fiesta plates to my growing collection ( yes! a new post with photos is in order), 3 Forest Green Fire King Charm luncheon plates, and 4 Regency/Forest Green Pyrex dinner plates.

I also found a Lime green Pyrex creamer. It made me inordinately happy. Unlike the Regency/Forest Green plates, the Lime does not have the gold trim. I am trying to collect pieces of the dinnerware WITHOUT the gold trim, but of course, I have little self-control when confronted with pieces with it, so I buy both.

I'm also not convinced that the Regency/Forest green was ever produced without the gold trim (though it is said to have been). I've scoured the internet trying to find even 1 photo of this color without gold, and so far, no luck. This may be one of the things Barbara Mauzy (author of Pyrex: the Unauthorized Collectors Guide) was meaning when she said this color is the hardest to find.

And in the same shop I bought the dinnerware, I also bought a 1953 Heinz promotional Pyrex baking dish. It is a unique shade of green said to match the green of Heinz cans of the time. I think there's something of a joke inherent in this piece. It is numbered 507 - the only Pyrex piece I'm aware of that used this size number. Pyrex 507? Heinz 57?!

But, the funny thing is, it's almost an exact match, colorwise, to the Regency/Forest Green dinnerware. Promotional dish appeared in 1953. This color in dinnerware appeared in 1954. Coincidence, much?

But anyhow, it was a nice vacation. And hopefully the sun will come out soon and I can get some decent pics to post.