What a month October was. I spent far too much of it nursing sore ears, throat and voice box for my comfort. The cold dry air here is still something I am getting used to after the wet of Hawaii. But enough on that, let's get on with the show.
This cute little painting by Charlene back in 1989 is darling, but a real puzzler. As you can see the wood frame of this painting says Brook Hill Farm Mequon, Wi 53092 7 1/2 x 7 1/2. Now what makes this such a puzzle is that there is a Brook Hill Farm at this location. The place is privately owned and doesn't look like this painting, nor is there a Charlene there, unless it is Julie's daughter?! This is a farm on the historic register and open for tours, or at least it was back in 2011 when an article in the local paper came out. I don't know how this painting fits into the place, but Charlene was one of those painters I just love. They paint not only the front of the canvas but all the sides and back as well. I liked it so well I didn't even mind the small dent in the canvas, which you can't really see anyway. Thank you Charlene for your skills, but I'd sure like some answers to this mystery. Why was the wooden canvas frame branded with Brook Hill Farm?
This lovely piece of art glass just blew me away when I saw it. It is just lovely and its colors are so vibrant. It is unsigned, but I don't care, it just glows in the light and was a must have. It was marked $4.99 which I thought a real steal. Now it clearly had a purple tag, but when I got home and was comparing the prices to the items, (like I always do), it was half off like it had a blue tag, so it cost me only $2.49. How's that for a really nice surprise?!
This deliciously blue art glass bottle was also unsigned. I couldn't really find anything like it. It may have had a stopper, but did not have one when I found it. It is hand blown and I just love the swirls of it. This was priced at $1.99, so I thought it well worth it. Maybe the sales lady was having an off day tho, because when I got home and checked my receipt, she had somehow failed to ring it up. So I paid 0. How odd!
When I saw this unique and lovely perfume bottle on the shelf, it really had me puzzled at first. I thought it's upright holder must be missing, because it is shaped like a top, so how does it sit on a shelf? However, upon closer inspection I realized that the glass had been ground and polished so that it could sit on its side. How clever is that?! I wish I could have gotten better pictures of it, but my camera just wouldn't cooperate. It is the loveliest swirled white and iridescent you could ask for. When the light hits it just right it glows. At $3.99 I wasn't going to leave it, so home it came with me, and now resides with my art glass perfume bottle collection in my china cabinet.
Now here's a sweet little decorative plate, by Kathy of Terra Ridge Ceramics out of Sandy, Oregon, dated, (as near as I can tel), 1997. I thought it too cute to pass up, which surprised me because I just don't like things with wings and halo's attached that shouldn't have them. This is a case of the exception to the rule. I thought the snowman simply adorable, so have decided to ignore his halo and wings. He just makes me smile he looks so happy. Good thing he doesn't know snowmen melt the minute the sun comes out. Well, maybe he's smiling because he knows he won't! Besides at just $1.99 why leave him?!
Words cannot express how I instantly fell for this rustic urchin the minute I laid eyes on him. I was certain he would have broken bits or chips off of him somewhere, but such was not the case. He was missing a price tag so I flagged down a worker and asked for one. The nice thing is they will do pricing at this 2nd hand shop, so while I waited I nervously thought for sure it would be priced more than I wanted to spend. When the gal came back I was relieved to find the price was only $4.99. Well worth it, I thought. This figurine, tho resin, is still made by famous porcelain sculpture, Guiseppe Armani, of Italy. Some just like this are labeled Capodimonte, Gulliver's World, & Boy Eating a Watermelon. Since mine did not come with its wooden base, labels, or papers, I have no proof positive tho. Personally I don't care who made this fellow, he is just so fun. I have a Japanese ebony stand for him to sit on, that frankly I think looks better than the originals I saw. He now resides on a dresser next to my desk, where I can see him at a glance. What a delight it is to know that people of talent created such a fun little lad. He is certainly a bringer of smiles.
I do think that Arizona picture sandstone is so uniquely beautiful. This 4 x 4 inch engraved tile coaster I spotted was so filthy I wasn't sure I wanted to buy it?! It was priced at just 99 cents and had a blue 50% off sticker so I thought I would take a gamble that I could clean it. I think for 49 cents my gamble was worth it, as this cleaned up really well. I used a rough old wash cloth and hot soapy water and it came out pretty nice. I have seen on Foogle many of these souvenir coasters and they usually come in sets of four, and cost about $20. I haven't seen this one with the etched in cabin and fir tree, but I really liked it. I'm not going to use it as a coaster, so it should go well with my other Arizona sandstone pieces.
A while ago I managed to pic up one of these small carved gourd pieces at this very same shop. As this one was different from the first, I thought it worth grabbing. By research I found it is a Salta, Tucuman, Calchqui Tribe folk art carved gourd, made in Argentina. The same as the other gourd, but is a double headed dragon, which is probably what it says on the gourd?! I like quirky handmade things, and I admire the artistry of this piece. It makes me smile at the talent of the artist, and I am always surprised that they sell these at such a low price. These sell online for $15 or more and I got it for just 99 cents. It was a happy trip to the 2nd hand shop and bargains were there to be had. Plus it was senior day which meant another 10% discount. Woohoo!
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