Dedication

I love antiques. If I had my way, I would spend all my time browsing antique stores and buying a million things. I grew up in a home where antiques were appreciated, but only existed in storage. My aunt and grandmother, however, filled their houses with all sorts of antiques. In fact, my aunt even bought a house that had previously been one of the first churches in the Shoals area. She didn’t buy it because she was in love with it; she bought it because it was old and she always imagined what the people who worshipped in it were like.

On my Dad’s side of the family, I am the only granddaughter and that meant that I had to learn how to decorate houses appropriately. So how did I learn? My aunt and grandmother took me to estate auctions and antique stores. As we browsed, they would explain to me what each piece was and how to check to make sure that it was in good condition. At Christmas, they gave me antique dolls, jewelry, jewelry boxes, books, figurines, and anything else that a little girl could possibly want (well, anything that a little girl from the 1800s would want). When we had tea and etiquette parties they dressed me in vintage clothing, even the shoes, and pinned my hair with tortoise shell clips. They slipped emerald, ruby, and diamond rings over my fingers and draped my neck with real pearls.

I felt at home among old things, and like my aunt, I wondered about the people who had used them. When I walked through my aunt’s house, I imagined that I was stepping back in time. She had antique chairs, tables, couches, desks, bookshelves, pie safes, Hoosier cabinets, dishes, paintings, rugs, dolls, lamps, beds, pianos—pretty much anything you could think of. While examining her antiques, I learned how to determine if a desk had been refinished or if a table leg had been replaced. I learned how to examine unique pieces for the maker’s mark and from there, determine the age of it. I wasn’t always right, but for my age, I was quite good at it.

At home, we only had two or three channels on our TV. For the most part, we kept it on one channel, and it just so happened that it was the channel that Antiques Roadshow came on. My Dad would set me in his lap and watch it with me every time it came on. We oohed and aahed at the items brought it, and we had contests to see who could guess closest to the actual values. It was fun to look at the antiques and learn about them, but more than that, it was fun to have something that bonded my father and me.

Now that I have moved out on my own, I am determined to furnish my home with as many antiques as I can with a reasonable mix of modern pieces. I do have a TV, but no cable, satellite, or antenna (I do have a DVD player). You would think that I would miss watching the newest shows, but all that I really miss is Antiques Roadshow.

And so, this blog is dedicated to the people who have taught me about antiques and given me a hobby that never truly gets old, at least not in the traditional sense.