It took me a while to get back into my current work in progress, Big Lake Tragedy, but once I did it started rolling along very well. In the last three days I’ve done close to 8,000 words. So I was ready for a break yesterday, and when we found an exercise bike Terry was interested in listed on Craigslist for sale down in Titusville, it seemed like a good way to get away from my desk for a while.
Titusville is about 20 miles south of us, about the same distance as it is if we go north to Daytona Beach. It was one of the communities we gave a lot of consideration to when we started looking for a home in this part of Florida. Home to the Kennedy Space Center and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with access to the Indian River and the ocean beaches, it has a lot to offer.
After we purchased the exercise bike, I did a quick Google search for antique shops because we always enjoy browsing through them. As it turned out there was a place called Wildwood Antique Mall only a mile away. Alright then, let’s go check it out.
We were hardly inside the door before I spotted a gorgeous old spinning wheel that I just knew Terry was going to love. And I was right! This is called a great wheel and it’s much larger than her smaller treadle powered spinning wheel. This design was one of the earliest spinning wheels made, and this one probably dates back to the early to mid-1800s. The price had been reduced several times, probably because it’s huge at five feet high and five and a half feet long and takes up a lot of space. Any reluctance Terry may have had about it (not much) quickly evaporated when she saw what they were asking for it. I’m not sure she’ll actually do any spinning on this, but it’s going to make a great decorator and conversation piece.
We spent a couple of hours browsing at the store and everybody working there was super friendly and eager to help out or answer any questions we had about different items on display. With Terry’s spinning wheel disassembled and loaded into the back of the Explorer, we went to another antique mall a couple of miles away. I will not mention the name of this one because I don’t want to give them any publicity. That’s because when we came in the door the two women behind the counter were running down the place we had just left and talking about how bad it was. You should never badmouth the competition, especially in front of customers. Leave that kind of nonsense to the politicians.
At any rate, we did stick around for a while, and for the record the second place wasn’t nearly as large or nearly as nice as Wildwood Antique Mall. However, we did find one bargain on consignment there, this vintage yarn weasel. These are used to wind yarn into a skein, and this one has an arrow shaped pointer on its face (think the dial of the clock) and when the correct amount of yarn (100 yards) has been wound, it makes a “pop” sound. That’s where we get term “pop goes the weasel.” And there’s your history lesson for the day. No, don’t thank me, it’s what I’m here for.
We are supposed to have a lot of rain over the next few days, which is going to cool it down somewhat, and also keep us here at home. No problem, Terry’s always got plenty of projects and chores to keep her busy, and I’ve got plenty of writing to get done. We’re not going to get bored.
Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an autographed copy of Terry’s cookbook, Miss Terry’s Kitchen. To enter, all you have to do is click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening.
Thought For The Day – Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.