Flashback - The Last Two Weeks Of November, 2019

As we continue the practice of social distancing in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have plenty of time to catch up on the period not covered during our six month hiatus from blogging. On to the next flashback post...the last two weeks of November, 2019.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, the fourth weekend in November would be a busy one. Although we had only one sale on our list for Saturday, we had a concert to attend in New York City that night so it would be a very full day. The sale on our list looked really good. It was being run by one of the oldest and most prolific of the tag sale companies in our area. They don't always run the types of sales that hold our interest but this would be one of them. The sale was advertised as "Grandma's collectible house" and the pictures showed lots of vintage Christmas, vintage salt and pepper shakers, vintage trains and vintage toys. It looked like it would be popular and we knew exactly how to get here because it was in Rob's hometown. 

The sale began at 10am and we got there just after 7am to get an early number. Even almost three hours early, we were not first but having these numbers should get us in the door at the start. We went out for breakfast, numbers in hand, and came back to wait for 10am.

This area was our primary target. Lots of vintage Christmas but, among the six people ahead of us, we knew that four of them (two groups of two) would be after the same things. Two are resellers and we suspect that the other two might do some selling, too. When the doors opened, three of the four competitors and Rob went right to this area. It was a civil frenzy of arms with all four of them focused on the prizes in front of them but all four were respectful. There is no need to start a war! 

Our other area of interest was the kitchen which had lots of vintage salt and pepper shakers. Monica targeted this room at the start as did one of our competitors. It's fair to say that all six of us did pretty well. 

Another view of the kitchen and where the salt and pepper shakers were positioned after the initial thinning by Monica and a competitor.

The kitchen had some great old cabinets but aside from this room and the living room filled with Christmas, there was nothing to see. We left with lots of Christmas, lots of salt and pepper shakers and a few other things. 

After we got home from the sale, we relaxed for a very short while and then took the train to New York City where our concert would be. We don't take subways; choosing instead to walk around the city and enjoy it. It wasn't a sunny day but we enjoyed the walk. This is a view of the Flatiron Building as we made our way from midtown to downtown. 

The famous Village Voice office, the headquarters for The Village Voice which ceased production in 2017 though it is still produced in digital format. 

We were going to grab a bite to eat (and a beer) at McSorley's Old Ale House which is located in The East Village and has been around since 1854 and is New York City's oldest Irish pub. We went inside but it was so packed that we knew we could not eat comfortably. It was Saturday night, after all, so we moved on in search of food elsewhere. 

  Without a plan in mind, we just walked around until we found something that appealed to us and we choose one of the many dumpling houses in the area. They were delicious! 

 We still had plenty of time so we stopped at Otto's Shrunken Head for a tiki drink. We go here whenever we wind up in the area which turns out to be only once or twice a year. It is the best tiki bar in the area. 

Inside Otto's Shrunken Head, we're surrounded by lots of tropical visual delights and the music, on any given night, could be exotic, rockabilly or punk. 

A giant tiki god oversees the proceedings! 

We each had a tiki drink. We actually shared both of them. 

We had time. We shared a third one. 

After saying goodbye to Otto's Shrunken Head, we made the twenty minute walk to Le Poisson Rouge (in Greenwich Village) and it was soon time for the opening band, The Bellwether Syndicate, of whose music we were unfamiliar but really liked. It was fronted by William Faith who also plays bass in The March Violets and guitar in Faith And The Muse. 

In between bands, we walked around and Monica found an appropriate throne for herself.

The headliner was Clan Of Xymox which is the band we came to see. They have been around since the 1980's and they were great! 

After the show, on our way out, we ran into William Faith who graciously posed for a picture with Rob. No, Rob didn't shrink. William Faith is about 6'5" tall. 

On Sunday, we had a chance to look at our Saturday finds and this is what was there:

A Lawrence Welk record

Some Christmas records

More Christmas records

A ceramic Metlox pineapple dish, a small rain bonnet case and a small plastic Mr. Peanut.  

Some small vintage die cut decorations and a small vintage Easter candy box

A vintage license plate holder and a button sold at Holden's Stationery store. Most are mementos from Rob's hometown. Holden's Stationery was an old favorite stationery store from Rob's childhood where he bought many a comic book, monster magazine and candy. As you walked in, everything smelled like wood and cigars. The floors were wood, the magazine racks were wood and the counter was wood. Just about everything inside was wood and the smell of wood was only cut by the smell of the cigars that Old Man Holden would smoke all day. He was a really nice man and would always let the kids look through the magazines for as long as they liked because he knew they would buy some before leaving. The store has been gone for many years but the great memories of the place remain. 

A great vintage outdoor ash tray / drink holder

Vintage poodle dish towels

A vintage teenager handkerchief

A vintage apron for Monica

A vintage Thanksgiving tablecloth

Vintage salt and pepper shakers. 

Vintage Thanksgiving ceramic salt and pepper shakers, a vintage ceramic creamer, a vintage ceramic sugar dish and a Thanksgiving Gurley candle. All of the ceramic pieces are marked Japan. 

A vintage Christmas apron for Monica

Another vintage Christmas apron for Monica

Two Christmas comic books from the 1950's

Vintage Christmas stuff. A box of ornament hangers, a package of small bulbs, a Christmas tree pin, a great ceramic Santa dish and a pair of bird bulbs

More vintage Christmas things. A ceramic Santa on a chair, a pixie, some elves, an electric Christmas tree in its box, a small bottle brush tree, some Barclay cast iron figures and a ceramic Santa candle holder

Lots of ceramic Christmas salt and pepper shakers. The snowman in the back is a three piece salt and pepper shaker set (stand and two shakers). All are marked Japan. 

The three tiki mugs we took home from Otto's Shrunken Head

The following Thursday was Thanksgiving and we split our time between our families after watching The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on television, of course!

Rob's youngest sister (foreground) hosted the Thanksgiving dinner. Monica wore her little Thanksgiving hat. Rob's other sister, his nephew and his mom are also pictured. Our other host, Rob's brother-in-law took the picture.

We brought celery with spready cheese as an appetizer. This was always there as an appetizer at all the holidays in Rob's house growing up and they were a big hit today! 

We went to Monica's sister and brother-in-law's house for dessert where we celebrated with Monica's brother-in-law, Monica's dad, Monica's sister and Monica's brother (and the kids who missed out on this photo)

Ah...there are the kids! 

We were back at Valerie's sister's house the next day for Thanksgiving Day leftovers where we, once again, had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and, of course, cranberry sauce served in its natural can-shaped form! 

Sweety had a great time celebrating! 

So did we! It was a great two weeks together and we had three more days off after Thanksgiving to spend together (though there were no sales). We'll be back in a few days to catch up with some more!