Sick of weeding and home repairs, Dad decided that we all
needed a break, and we were long overdue for a day of antiquing. We headed all
the way to A Unique House Antique Mall in King George. Among antique malls, it
proved itself more enjoyable than most, despite the lack of AC. I pined for
several, random household items, from a cute copper watering can—too pricey—to a
Jadeite measuring cup with matching juicer—seemed like a great idea until I
realized that my desire for a Jadeite piece didn’t outweigh the fact that I
couldn’t actually read how much was measured through the creamy green material.
I finally settled on a pale blue, Depression glass, casserole dish, complete
with matching lid and trivet. It was a little pricier than I would have liked,
but I had never seen such a piece before. Labeled as Fire King Oven Glass, it
should cook as well as any Pyrex. I figured that I didn’t have a casserole
dish, and why should mine not be beautiful as well? I think that is slowly
becoming a new motto of mine. William Morris said, “Have nothing in your house
that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” I have a few
concessions, but I like to think of it as also reading, “If it is useful or
needed, try to make it beautiful as well.” Happy surprise, I got a little
discount at checkout.
Also, when walking out, I picked up a great brochure/map on
Eastern and Northern Virginia antique malls/shops. So handy. I’d love to get
one for the rest of the state. I plan on keeping it in my car for long drives
with a little down time. Not all the shops listed can be trusted to be superior
as they pay to advertise. We went to another one that was listed, and it turned
out to be a total dud. But that is the story of antiquing, hits and misses!
Update: I found a bunch more of the glass at a little shop
along the drive back from camping. The lady specialized in Depression glass.
Her stuff was pricey…all of it, except
the light blue. Lucky for me! As I don’t own any baking stuff, I got a small casserole
dish, a lidded loaf pan, a medium roasting pan, and two pie dishes. It will be simply delightful to bake!
