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Show and Tell and we won't talk about how I fell ... yet
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 11:44PM 
Sue Osborne -- a/k/a Nostalgic Nana -- of Beaverton, Oregon, showed up according to plan on my doorstep around nine o'clock Sunday night, and we commenced to enjoy a very proper visit!
After gabbing until past midnight, we called it a day. On Monday we set out mid-morning for a sightseeing and shopping excursion.
First I took Sue across the Lake Murray Dam into Lexington, so that I could show her the house where we lived when we first moved to South Carolina in 2002.
The house was partially destroyed by fire in late 2005, a few days before we were scheduled to finalize selling it!
I wrote about that exciting event here.
Having done that, we headed to what used to be one of my favorite haunts when I lived on "the other" side of the dam: the picturesque Old Barn General Store.
Sue had said the magic words "I love shopping!" and I knew she'd love the Old Barn. But when we got there, we found that the Old Barn is soon to be no more. Most of the inventory has been sold but Sue and I spent a happy half-hour trolling for residual bargains.
Store owners Robin and Cindy Jones are known in these parts for their thoroughgoing collection of antiques -- everything from furniture to apothecary items. I found a charming old Luzianne coffee can and two glass jars with screw-on metal lids.
I decided to put my coffee can on the baker's rack. What do you think?
It appears my little glass jars are happy beside my other little glass things, and some rooster canisters that were a gift from Erica, and vintage cards, and a miniature screen door.
From there Sue and I went to downtown Columbia where we had a few excellent adventures, including a visit to the South Carolina State House.
Later I fell down and hurt myself badly enough that I spent all of Monday evening at a Doctors Care.
Sue's asked me to write a guest post on her blog and I think I'll tell you more about it over there. Stay tuned for semi-gory details!
(It's funnier looking back than it was in real life. Let's put it that way. I'll make every attempt to render the facts in an amusing manner. It's either that or cry.)
But since I have you here now and have already posted pictures of recent acquisitions on the decorating front, and in keeping with the theme of Show and Tell, I thought I'd go ahead and show you (and tell you about) some new things I've added to my ever-evolving home decor repertoire.
On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby I was drawn to several half-price pieces in cast iron. Because I love the fleur-de-lis motif, I was thrilled to find a very affordable (as in, redonkulously cheap) set of bookends and a primitive bell. Adding them to the tall thing (I don't know what to call it) in the middle, and arranging it all with my cast iron Bienvenue plaque in the front, Voila! I created a tablescape.
Just because we can, let's do a close-up on my cast iron Bienvenue. It cost one dollar and sixty cents plus tax.
On that same trip I found a large garnet-red glass bottle that I keep beside my sink, full of dish soap.
Speaking of bottles, I found this gaggle of brightly-colored ones for a price no glass-bottle-loving person like me could ever resist.
You may have noticed that one of these things is not like the others. That's because the large clear bottle in front was actually the container for a fabulously decadent substance called Drizzzle, which I obtained when I visited the graves of Henry Luce and Clare Boothe Luce at Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.
(Would you believe my camera was on the fritz when I went there and I did not get pictures? I'll go back when it cools down a bit. I promise. Not one of you will escape. But I did write about it ... here.)
Drizzzle -- "Mepkin Abbey's Signature Sauce" -- is made by Trappist monks, and no I did not drink it (!!!) but I plead guilty to liberally drizzling it onto vanilla ice cream and when I'd drizzled the last drop, I do believe I shed a tear.
I cannot part with the bottle.
Actually all the bottles serve the purpose of making more colorful (and less empty) an inherited wine rack built into my kitchen cabinetry.
Two more things and we're done with Show and Tell. I was sorting through some stuff in a box last weekend and found an apron I'd been missing for years. TG bought it for me! I am no longer apronless.
And the piece de resistance: my Johnny Cube. It's a wrought iron container (also purchased at Hobby Lobby) that holds my collection of Johnny Depp movies. There's also just enough room left over to stash the DVD player remote.
I guess you've figured out I have a hard time resisting visits from blogging buddies, old metal things, glass bottles and jars, stuff wrought from iron, all things French, a berry concoction named Drizzzle (extra "z" on purpose) and Johnny Depp.
My secrets are laid bare.
I'm not sorry.
Reader Comments (13)
I can see that you and Sue had a great time together, aside from that fall! I'll be looking forward to that guest post. I love your purchases - you did great!
Ohhhh, I love all your color in the kitchen! It looks great! I cannot imagine how this fall came about. Climbing the waterfalls? I will just have to wait to find out!
Ha! You are a collector of the highest order. Hope your bones don't hurt too horribly. Jeff and Bethany got stuck on the runway in Chicago because of a storm, I suspect she may have raided the kiddos' candy bag!
@Mari ... we certainly did, despite my falling out and injuring my person! I'm glad you like my stuff! You know how much fun it is to find something that both speaks to you and that you can afford!
@Cheryl ... girl I would never try to climb a waterfall; the results would not be good. No, I fell just walking along a flat surface -- well, turns out it wasn't so flat and that's what flattened ME!
@Hobbit ... I can forgive Bethany if the kids can! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. My bones are definitely creaking today and my muscles are squeaking too!
Oh I love bargains and seems like you found some great ones. I love the apron. Speaking of finding things, I cleaned out the guest closet last week and found a robe and pj's that I didn't even remember having. It was like a gift.
First of all, I am so sorry that you fell down and injured yourself! I am praying that you did not whack a knee. I don't wish bad knees on anybody! Oh well, perhaps some politicians in Washington who are shoving govt. health control down our throats. But now I digress... Please fess up on the details!
And my, my. There was a LOT in that post. I feel a bit dizzy from it all and warm by the time I got to Johnny. And that lit up arch picture is spectacular!
I'm sorry to hear you fell, and hurt yourself. Do hope you'll recover fully. It certainly didn't put a damper on your bargains. What fun the two of you had. Thank you so much for stopping by and your sweet words, I really do appreciate your kind support on those days that my spirit falls. I have to tell you a story about me falling, I still have scars. I was visiting my mom and it was a particularly bad day for her, and of coarse I was weeping uncontrollably whilst on my way to the bus, I thought , "I'll just visit my friends dad's grave and say a little prayer, and maybe I'll calm down," Earlier in the day I was grocery shopping and like the nutty florist I think I am, bought some gigantic artichokes that I thought would look lovely on a Thanksgiving Table. (they were quite pricey) So I'm walking along on the "even" ground/walkway and something pushed me, and it was like in the cartoons, I went flying almost right into traffic. Good thing it was a red light. I got up, much calmer than I should have been, collected my artichokes from the road, had to stop oncoming traffic to get a few, and all the while thinking "oh I hope they are not messed up" not thinking my arm was bleeding and I seemed to have lost my shoe. I ended up sitting down at the grave site and resting and then finding my shoe, by now it was getting really dark, I had stopped crying, but I didn't even have a tissue to wipe up my bloody arm. When I got on the bus, the drive sort of gave me a strange look. So I can absolutely relate to your fall.
@Debbie ... oooh, a long-forgotten robe and pj's? What fun! And aren't aprons wonderful? I love finding a bargain in an antique store. Doesn't happen very often. The little jars were only $5 for the pair and I think they're so cute!
@Donna ... actually it was my knee I whacked very thoroughly, and my left hip and left shoulder. It's very sore and stiff. I've used lots of Ibuprofen and liniment! But I'm on the mend. and isn't that arch picture great? I'm thinking of enlarging that one, matting it out, and framing it. Lots of my family members will be getting photography for Christmas!
@Irene ... makes me hurt just to read your description of that tumble into the street! It's so awful when you know you're going down hard and there's nobody and nothing to hold onto. I'm so sorry you had to help yourself up and hobble to the graveyard alone. At least I had Sue to provide sympathy and assistance! Thank God for days when we manage to stay on our feet and off the ground.
Glad you had such a fun and shopping-filled time. You are the queen of blogging photos!
I am so sorry to hear that you did smack your knee! Yeeee-ouch! If you don't get to feeling better soon, please get yourself to a doctor and get some better stuff to dampen the aches and pains. {{{hugs}}}
I do have some good news to cheer you up. I see that you have a nifty e-mail thingie on your sidebar. You are SO CLEVER! How on earth did you get it to do that? I really hate putting my e-mail out for everyone to see because of the durn spammers, so such a link up is quite a good idea. Where was I? Oh yearh. I was drawing this out as much as possible to build up the suspense about the good news. Well, dear. It's like this. Your bribes to Marty must have worked. He picked your name out of the hat, inbetween munchings on some fresh clover. You won my little giveaway! I'm zipping you an e-mail to ask for your mailing address.
@Kev ... I am? I want my tiara! LOLOL ... and yes, we did. It was so much fun. The only thing wrong was one, it was too hot and two; I fell down!
@Donna ... woot! woot! I won the boooookkkkkk~ I wanted that book so much too ... I was just going to go ahead and buy it. Cannot wait to read and savor it on some rainy fall day! Give Marty some extra clover and give him a great big kiss from me tooooo! And thank you!
Yes, you are! And you'll get your tiara just as soon as we see some photographic evidence of your falling down! ;)
LOVE THE PICTURES!!! And it's so awesome yall had a great visit! Sorry to hear u took a fall though!