Today I stumbled on the motherlode of vintage embroidered household linens in a rusty, dusty, hot almost to point of unbearable, junk, ahem, I mean antique store, way out on the fringes of town. Or to be correct: the fringes of the next door town.
As an aside: it’s complicated. The two communities once were one town, but then they split, over a 1950s name change disagreement, I have been led to believe. I live in the other town from this store. The one that went with the TV show name change.
While I have often driven past this monument to a certain style and period of low budget industrial architecture, since it is en route to one of the lakes, I haven’t been drawn in. Sometimes it doesn’t even look as if it is open for the kind of business which would interest me: that’s real desert weathering on the sign, not artsy patina.
However, the business has been on my radar a while now because the local newspaper, of dubious veracity itself, votes this establishment the best antique store year after year in their annual “best of” community engagement endeavour. An endeavour which, in some local opinion, looks a lot more like free publicity for buddies who share the editor’s political affiliations, than a true community endorsed best of…..But small towns are small towns and when one chooses to live in a rural area in the USA, one rolls with biases, oddities and differences in opinion and worldviews.
Needing to digest the news of the attack on Salman Rushdie, whose books I used to buy for small rural public libraries and highlight in my readers advisory classes on why it’s important to read international literary fiction, and also wanting to explore resources for a scheme to use my lavender harvest now that it’s dried, I went down to the end of town, without consulting anyone, let alone James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree**[see below if you are not familiar with A.A.Milne poetry]. Where I stumbled upon the motherlode! Not, mind you, before my Covid era face mask (yes I still wear one when going out into unknown places or shops) had been scorned by the proprietor. Speaking of tolerance.
After three cycles through my washing machine and line drying (the blessing of desert living: laundry dries in minutes) I set to work this afternoon making lavender sachets. Some cloths are in better condition than others. Some of the stained ones might end up in coffee or marigold dye baths.
Since not much is priced in this amazingly expansive collection of old stuff, I was worried I would be charged a lot for my selection from several boxes of cloth and household linen. There might have been more worthy items but the heat and lack of ventilation or air flow in the metal building was really uncomfortable at midday in the desert in August. The price quoted me was very reasonable, so I didn’t balk or haggle. It was so gosh-darned hot in that metal building!
I’m still working on finishing touches on these first sachets. Depending on how many are completed tonight, I might offer a selection at farmers market tomorrow alongside the savasana lavender eye pillows, and lavender balm which are regular stock using my own lavender.
Working with lavender really is soothing.
** Disobedience by A.A. Milne was a favourite verse often quoted by my mother, when I was a child.
James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he;
"You must never go down
to the end of the town,
if you don't go down with me."
James James
Morrison's Mother
Put on a golden gown.
James James Morrison's Mother
Drove to the end of the town.
James James Morrison's Mother
Said to herself, said she:
"I can get right down
to the end of the town
and be back in time for tea."
King John
Put up a notice,
"LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES MORRISON'S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN
TO THE END OF THE TOWN -
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!"
James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he:
"You must never go down to the end of the town
without consulting me."
James James
Morrison's mother
Hasn't been heard of since.
King John said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John
(Somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew:
If people go down to the end of the town, well,
what can anyone do?"
(Now then, very softly)
J.J.
M.M.
W.G.Du P.
Took great
C/O his M*****
Though he was only 3.
J.J. said to his M*****
"M*****," he said, said he:
"You-must-never-go-down-to-the-end-of-the-town-
if-you-don't-go-down-with-ME!"