Thursday, January 2, 2014

Thrifty Thursday......

Gentle Friends I hope you all had a super New Years Eve and a wonderful New Years Day.  We stayed in as I am not one for the massive crowds and crazies driving around NYE.... and I brought in the new year ironing some of the things I had washed earlier in the day.  I hate putting things away not ironed.  Then yesterday we went to an friends house fro their annual"good luck" luncheon the have been hosting for the past few years - he makes black eye peas with ham hocks, collard greens, corn bread and four types of salsa, from hot to melt the spoon which has habanero peppers in it - I stay away from that one and stick to just the hot, which is pretty hot to my little tongue!!  He makes a ton of food and everyone goes home with a doggie bag and we'll be having it again tonight - I'll make some rice and a cornbread and it will be delicious!!!
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The Saturday before Christmas I ran around to my usual thrifty haunts and found a few things, we also hit up a great Estate Sale........


.... I found the flaring dish (on the right) at a Goodwill.  It is Italian and marked Fierenze and 800, the standard Italian silver mark, and was only a few dollars.  It is beautifully made and I can only think that no one had a clue as to what it was - I was totally stoked!!  The other things I picked up at the Estate Sale.  On Saturday I only bought the DVD, English silver tray and the salamander corbel,  I saw the brass candlesticks and the sterling mug (cann), but they were just too expensive for me........  The corbel is a reproduction from Wells Cathedral, I have a few of these repro bits from other cathedrals I have visited, they are made from the ground up stone from the actual places broken off and left over during restoration.

Of course I obsessed the rest of the day over the mug and then after 8 am Mass the next morning and our weekly visit to Trader Joe's, I drove back across the city to see if there was anything left to be gotten.

  Usually on Sunday, estate sales will cut the prices in half to move what didn't move the first two days.  I was also hoping that the mug had been sold, so I wouldn't have to decide it was just to much money.......  I walked in the house and there in the front room in one of the cases with the few other things that were pricey sat the mug....  I sort of circled it some more - then walked out and into the dinning room, found that the brass sticks were still there and half price, so I had to get them now.  I turned around and walked back to the case to fondle what was quickly becoming "my" wonderful, mid 18th century piece of silver!!  

The more expensive things I was told did not go half price (I had figured they wouldn't) and they were slated to go to auction if they didn't sell.   There was some glass stuff and few other pieces of less interesting silver some pretty jewelry... and "my mug."  I haggled a bit and got $50 knocked off the price and finally decided I needed a Christmas present to myself, so my crazy silver fetish won out and it came home to live at my house for a while.  I really don't know any of it's provenance, the marks tell me it was made in London in 1752 and now it resides in San Francisco, but between then and now who knows???  Here's a shot of the great engraving on the front....

...... we all need presents!!! - and isn't it beautiful!!!
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There you go sports fans - thanks for stopping by, dos top again!!

Take care,
edgar

15 comments:

  1. Beautiful items and of course the mug is gorgeous!! Great find!

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  2. Great finds and the mug is beautiful. Congratulations on a wonderful find. I'm sure that we could all come up with a wonderful story of how the mug made it's way to San Francisco.

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  3. Happy New Year Edgar. Sounds like you had a lovely NYE. I, too, don't like crowds...but someday it would be fun to go into the city and witness the NY fireworks first hand. I love all your treasures you found, and the stories that go with them. Take care and Happy New Year.

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  4. The mug is gorgeous and you deserve it.

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  5. Dearest Edgar: Your treasures are beautiful I love John Wayne, I have been to the home he grew up in, in Winterset Iowa.
    I hope you and Rico and the Hoo Hounds had a lovely Newyears Eve.

    Blessings

    Catherine

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  6. Hi Edgar, I'm a new follower of yours and enjoy reading your posts. You were obviously meant to have those pieces. Your love of precious old things is obvious so however your mug got to San Francisco it's wonderful to know it will be loved and appreciated.

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  7. Fabulous finds, Edgar! And since that mug was still there, it was meant to come home with you! It is beautiful....

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  8. What magnificent finds. That mug is spectacular! Of course you did the right thing!!!!! We all need to buy gifts for ourselves once in a while!

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  9. Sometimes we just need to say "I deserve this!" and carry on. Great purchases.

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  10. Sounds like the mug was waiting for you Edgar! It is stunning!!

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  11. Happy New Year to you and Rico.
    Just love your silver mug well worth the present to yourself.

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  12. What a beautiful mug....I have never seen another with a sword on it...I think we all should buy a present for ourselves once and a while. We deserve it! Happy New Year to you both.

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  13. Happy New Year, Edgar! That cup is beautiful! Don't you just love thinking about it's history? Nice haul this week! I love the Searchers and haven't seen it for ages. Will have to check Netflix and hopefully put it in my queue. Hugs, Nancy in snowy NY

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  14. All your "finds" are beautiful, but the mug is drop dead gorgeous!!! I'm glad you bought it for yourself!! Happy New Year.

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“In every end, there is also a beginning.”

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