Treasure Hunting in the Heat

Although last night DH had agreed we needed to get rolling and accomplish what we could before the heat set in, he slept late this morning. It was nice to have the deck alone for a while in the early hours, but the heat moved in steadily. Also there was a lot of breeze which is unusual this time of year when the air is so warm. Finally, I rousted DH out and said I was hitting the road; he hustled and joined me. A few errands in town and then over to Sam’s for a few bulk things. Since we were only about 15 minutes from the Oklahoma border, we decided to scout out flea markets in Miami. The wildflowers were beautiful due to heat and recent rains, but I could take no pictures as we were traveling the turnpike. Safety was a factor over picture snapping. Once in Miami, there weren’t many antique stores or flea markets. Loads of casinos if you wanted to gamble though! However, we scared up a place or two,and one was packed with glassware and china. It was a challenge to seek finds in the loaded shelves. When flea marketing, it is really the hunt that is as thrilling as bagging the dish!

I found some Blue Willow pieces worth the price. They weren’t extraordinary but all were made in pre-war Japan. One dish is like a soup bowl but is quite a bit more shallow. I have no idea what the original use was. Then we angled back across the border north of town, passing through Mickey Mantle country (now there is a name from the past!), and barely caught the corner of Kansas at Baxter Springs. A couple of nice flea markets there where one store clerk directed us to a flea market in a residential area. When we got there it was more of a thrift store; sales would benefit the Neutral Lands Cherokee, a non-federally sponsored group working to promote Cherokee culture and language, run classes for pottery making, and help people with a food pantry. Prices were certainly right here, but items were not what we were looking for today. However, I did eye this tea pot. I passed it three times and then decided the money would go to a worthy cause even though I didn’t “need” it. It is not valuable I am sure; the only mark on the bottom is USA. But it had a nice shape, looks old fashioned, and while it was filthy, it did clean up well. Even though it has no Native American designs, I think I will call it my Cherokee tea pot.

Tomorrow the temps are to be even higher than today. So maybe we will brew up pitchers of iced tea early and hunker down for reading some good books outside in the shade.