One of the things we like about estate sales is that they start at nine or ten in the morning. Imagine our surprise when we saw one that was starting at eight o’clock in the morning! And it was a good hours drive away. That meant if we wanted to go to it, we needed to get up at about 5:30 in the morning, feed the puppies, pick up Scotty’s coffee, pick up our road trip hash browns, and drive in the dark over strange country roads.
Well, we looked at the pictures. There was not just one set, or two sets, but three sets of teapots and tea cups that we thought were delightful. So we set our alarm. Something we just don’t do these days. And in the dark of early morning, we climbed out of bed, and headed on our way.
Strange curvy hilly roads in the dark are not a lot of fun. Fortunately, they were country roads so there wasn’t a lot of traffic. We were able to go a little bit slower than normal. Then the fog appeared! Strange roads, hills and curves, dark, fog… I began to wonder if we had made a wise decision.
But the sun rose over the horizon and light appeared, making our journey easier. There were still dense pockets of fog, but we had a much clearer idea where we were going. Seeing the sunrise through the fog, was one of the most wonderful delights of our journey.
Then, Scott saw geese flying south in formation. For the longest time they were too far away for me to see. But, it was so interesting… they flew almost directly to the car and swooped over it… almost as if they wanted to make sure I had the opportunity to see them fly South.
Early morning adventures… back country road adventures… We are so blessed, to be able to have so much fun, no matter where we go.
We arrived at the house a half hour before it was due to start, amazed a long line already existed. We took our numbers and waited for the sale to start.
They had rules! Only 15 at a time would be allowed in the antique room. The antique room where I saw two of our tea sets… we did not have number one through 15 so we had to wait… and wait… one person would exit… one person would enter… finally people were not responding to numbers… One more person was allowed to enter… one more person… and that person was me!
I ran to our wished for tea sets. Well, I walked quickly, and laid one hand on each set. No idea what the cost was, but that was a matter to be worried about when they gave us the prices. One set was Meissen China… oh, could we afford it? But when they gave us the amount it was very reasonable.
By this time Scott was allowed to enter. He looked at the tea sets and smiled. Then he looked at me and said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but did you see the dishes on top of that cabinet?” He was pointing to a cabinet in the main room that I couldn’t see from that vantage point. I went out into the main room, turned around, and looked. Oh my, he’s right! We’re in trouble. Sitting on the top of the cabinet were a large platter, a HUGE soup tureen, a gravy boat, and a large serving bowl… All Meissen China!
Then there was the lovely every day teapot, cups, and complete service. The price for them was so reasonable we added that to our collection. Needless to say, we left there with a FULL car of treasures…
