Life in the Laugh Lane

Off on an adventure with my friend Rebecka is always a treat. You may remember me mentioning two wonderful women we met at an antique mall a while ago. They had a "to die for" booth filled with all the things we love and were so much fun to chat with. We stayed in touch and saw them a few times again when we were back through the area. They held a barn sale that we attended also. We were delighted when they told us they would be holding their first auction! Of course we had to go support The Spoon Sisters! They opened a great little shop that we visited last October when we went to the Country Living Fair. Across the parking lot is a restored railroad depot that is now an event location. The event of the day was the auction. We hit a few shops along the way and I came home with several new treasures as did Rebecka. I did not "win" anything at the auction, but Rebecka did very well.

I guess I was on a box kick, I bought three of them this trip. A nice funnel, a small wooden bowl, a tall glass globe and a Wisconsin Pottery Preserves Jar. Got a great little firkin that I will have to do a little prim-over to.

Also came home with a great metal dustpan, a very large crackled and crazed off white platter, a pewter mug and a neat "trash can".

One of my favorite things about traveling with Rebecka is all the hilarity that seems to follow us all around. First we saw a goat on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere...maybe not too funny to others, but because of past encounters with animal sightings we laughed out loud. The music at the two malls we stopped to visit was the craziest ever, that just got us tickled even more. We have great therapy in the car time, which when you are raising teenagers you surely need. The GPS in Rebecka's car played several jokes on us too, but always to our advantage and made us laugh even more. Our hotel had a shower, not a tub and half the wall was curved....think it was so late and we were so tired and that made us laugh. From vending machines, to oversleeping (we just about missed our free breakfast) from auction entertainment ( we enjoyed the conversations going on behind us as much as the action in front of us) to making peanut butter sandwiches in the car ( on bread we smashed with our treasures ) to so much more, it seemed everything was funny.

I am sure you have similar stories to share... I think that is part of what I enjoy so much about this passion of collecting things from the past; the part about spending time with friends and sharing the fun of the hunt with them. The girl time together whether it is two or twenty is such a blessing and a treat from the daily joys of raising a family and working at a job. It seems to me that no one but a prim friend can really appreciate the treasure you just found or the placement of that treasure in your home. In the decorating world I think it is unique....and to us is not decorating at all but the feathering of the nest to bring warmth and beauty to the place we call home. As Rebecka reflected on the very large cotton basket she "won" at the auction, we discussed it's beauty as an art craft, the many hands that had used it, the stories it could tell, how she would use it in her home and how it would remind her of the trip. The same is true of many of our other selections as well. Every item has a history and we added to it. We will continue to add to the history of those treasures as we use them in our homes.

If laughing makes you live longer, I am pretty sure I added about 10 years to my life. Though we did not drive in the fast lane, we experienced life in the laugh lane! ~~ Beth