Fun Stuff from the Memphis Trip

We just got back from a long weekend 'mini-vacation' to visit our dear friends Mark & Kally in Memphis (more pictures and *hopefully* a video will follow later). We had a GREAT time and went through every state possible in a direct trip there and back: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and (thanks, Kally, for the 6-mile round trip so that I could say I'd been there) Mississippi.

We visited a few antique shops on the way down, mostly in Indiana and Illinois. Thanks to my friend 'treasure seeker', I've gotten in the habit of taking my camera along and snapping a picture of the shops. I really liked Markle Antique Mall in Markle, Indiana and got a few things there.
I got to put the lessons I learned about 'boopie' glasses and candlewick from 'treasure seeker' to use at this booth.
My favorite Illinois antique mall was Rend Lake Antique Mall outside of Benton, Illinois -- it was great. That's where I got the tumbler and Kitchen Parade cloth below.

The booth in this picture was my favorite one & displayed really well!

Then I got to go to Kally's favorite shop, Sheffield Antique Mall in Collierville & we had a wonderful time (as we always do when we're together). There's no treasure you can buy that's as precious as a true friend!

Here are the treasures I came home with (and I don't think I even spent as much as Jim's one round of golf!)

An orange chenille rug decorated with big, bright pom-poms
A 'Kitchen Parade' small tablecloth or large towel
A vintage dishtowel decorated with vegetables
A wire holder for my swanky swigsA tumbler from a feed store that says
'Egg Atoms' for 'Mountains of Eggs'
(the hen is shown on an egg mountain to prove that it's real)
A barkcloth pillow cover large enough for one of my old metal lawn chairs
When I got home, I went back to Livingston Antiques and got a little yo-yo man that I'd had my eye on and was afraid might be gone. He's really a clown, but since he doesn't have a scary face, I don't have to be afraid of him!

Now, with my new austerity program, I have to get rid of as many things as I brought into the house +1 more. We'll see how THAT goes!

A Freebie Treasure

My friend Kathy, whose mother is down-sizing her home, offered to let me have anything I wanted from the give-away stuff. I got this wonderful item! Kathy and her brother really laughed at how excited I was about it -- they just don't know a treasure when they see it.

Now all I need is a little bird to go in it. . .

Prairie Home Companion in the D!

On Saturday night we went to see A Prairie Home Companion at the Fox Theater in Detroit. It was WONDERFUL, with everything one would expect from Garrison Keillor and company. If you're not familiar with PHC, it's hard to describe it -- it's a live radio broadcast in the tradition of the old ones from the 1920s and 1930s (complete with corny commercials, sound effects and radio 'drama'), but with current entertainment and humor. If you love it, you love it . . . if not, oh well.

We got our tickets back in November (my Christmas present) and the show's been sold out since then. When we were in line to go in, one of the Fox doormen asked me "What radio station plays this?" I answered "NPR -- WUOM -- Michigan Radio." He wanted to know when it would be on and if many people listened to it, so I explained that it would be broadcast live that night and rebroadcast on Sunday. He said he couldn't believe all the people that were there and that Garrison Keillor must be a big deal (Yes!) to sell out the theater! Of course, the Fox is just beautiful. I'm including downloaded photos since none of ours (taken with a cellphone) turned out well. It makes the evening special just to sit there and soak up the atmosphere.

The show was great, with everything I'd hoped for (we got 'Guy Noir', but NOT the 'Lives of the Cowboys') and, as usual, great musical guests. We saw "Sir" Mack Rice (who wrote Mustang Sally), the Steele sisters, Bettye LaVette (not my personal favorite) and John Lauter (who played the Fox's pipe organ) and we heard some great Motown songs. The humor, radio stories and sing-alongs were a little bit corny, but LOTS of fun!

Of course, it was all topped off with the 'News from Lake Wobegon'!

We ended up at Buddy's in Livonia for a salad and a pizza -- altogether, it was just a GREAT evening! Thanks, Jim, for my Merry Christmas in February!