Right in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, along with Empress Josephine’s jewels and Marie Antoinette’s diamonds. While Kathy was eclipse chasing, well, a little before to be truthful, I was in Washington, D.C. with my sisters drooling over the fabulous contents of the Smithsonian museums:
If you aren’t up on your Hope Diamond lore, you need to be. A previous 20th-century owner was incredibly reckless with it, letting others wear it, even her dog! The necklace was bought by Harry Winston, the famous jeweler, and he ended up donating the diamond and mailing it to the Smithsonian through the USPS in a plain box with a $1,000,000 of insurance! I just love looking at it and admiring its lovely color.
We dream of finding the equivalent of the Hope Diamond at a thrift store, but we seem destined to just see a bunch of crazy stuff!!
Oh, we do remember this kind of decorative item:
These fake Hobnail wall sconces weren’t even ceramic; they were plastic!! Neither of us really care all that much for milk glass or the Hobnail pattern by Fenton Art Glass Co., but either are preferable to plastic imitations! You can see the line in the candleholder where they put two pieces together, not seamlessly. There was a warning on the backs of these items to save fools from having to scrape melted plastic off their living room walls, or worse.
The proverbial shelf of carp:
On the top center shelf you can see someone’s bobblehead collection of hockey players for the local minor-league team. I’m from Michigan, and can say that as a kid, my family was interested in the local team, so I get following a team. I’m not sure that there is anyone in the world that would want to house a bobblehead collection of those players. I’ll have to see if they are still there. I’m not sure that I want the mermaid or the small child on a rocking horse figure, either. The most promising thing from the bottom shelf might be the unicorn–it’s sweet, but kind of big. This is a microcosm of what we usually stare at when shopping thrift stores. It’s pretty rare to find a “good” thing, or even blog fodder.
This small minaret has some weird sloppy decoration:
It looks like a Russian onion dome, if it were painted by someone who had consumed vast quantities of vodka. Checking the bottom label of the thing, yeah, seems about right, except for Thailand being the country of origin. What we can’t understand is why someone would keep it after consuming the contents. I wouldn’t even want it for my garden, it’s hideous! Maybe that’s the point—no one would pick it up and discover your stash of alcohol.
Okay, this may be something you would buy after drinking a bottle of Stoli:
Drunk shopping on the internet has lead to some very questionable purchases, and this might be one. I’m imagining that you just broke up with your boyfriend and are consoling yourself with Ben and Jerry’s and some Stoli, say, to wash it down while doom-scrolling on your phone. Then you see it, the clock with the customizable face, and before you know it one is winging its way to your doorstep. Of course you don’t want it after sobering up and having your blood sugar return to normal, so you drop it off at the thrift store, leaving all the shoppers mystified and mentally writing novels about how such a thing could exist. You need to stay off your phone while vulnerable to impulsive purchases!
Oh, how I needed this some days when I worked:
I don’t know why, but some folks wouldn’t even let me take off my coat, before dropping their disasters in my lap. I would try to sneak in a back door and tiptoe to my office, but there was often someone camping out waiting for me to show up. I really needed this sign, maybe tattooed on the palm of my hand, to stop them in their tracks. It would have been more pleasant for both of us!
We aren’t exactly sure what this is:
It doesn’t really look like a fan, but it is on a long flat handle. She is very nicely done with the lovely hair ornaments and a nice fabric kimono. I’m wondering if she moves at all with those cords from the hat to her instrument (?). I’ve not seen anything quite like this figure, before. She was locked in the cabinet, so we couldn’t examine her. I hate dragging someone away from their job just to satisfy my curiosity. There were a number of Asian dolls on the shelves, and I even bought a cute wooden bobble-headed child flying a kite. Someone obviously let their big collection go.
( Edit to add: A loyal reader passed on the following info on this item. The Japanese looking fan is called Hagoita. They are wooden paddles for the Japanese game Hanetsuki during the New Year. )
Just wanted to share what is going on in the garden:
I love irises, and have all kinds and colors. This is a sweet early short one that is up, maybe just a tad early, along with some grape hyacinths. This is the time of the year when my garden looks its best!
Have a wonderful weekend! We will be on the lookout for more treasures and tripe. If you come across either on your ramblings, shoot us a picture at: thesecondhandroses@gmail.com.
Second Hand Roses 