In Minnesota, you have to find something to do in the winter or else you go mad. Some athletic types ski. Others, with equal parts grace and ferocity, play hockey. Those with an infinite capacity for boredom and Schlitz ice fish. None of these really describe me. So I invited Paul and our fellow Red Wing collectors Matt and Todd to "go west" on an antiquing trip. The day was bright and sunny, but the temperature was 11. (Little did we know then that just two days later, 11 would be a full 31 degrees warmer than the air temperatures across the state.)
We began our adventure at the Gateway Antique Mall in Rogers, MN. I hadn't been there for years, but often had found good deals in the past. Within seconds of entering the shop, I discovered why antiquing with three rabid collectors, including two over whom you have no spousal authority, was a bad idea. Todd (the evil one in the yellow jacket in this photo) knocked the three of us to the ground just inside the door. He swooped in and snatched up a treasure in his taloned grip, like a barn owl seizing an unsuspecting field mouse. (At least that's how I remember it - it's all a blur.) It was a three-part divided relish in Red Wing's elusive Desert pattern. To add insult to injury, this dish was marked at only $22.50 (it's easily worth $75) and was on sale for 25% off that. As Paul, Matt and I arose and dusted ourselves off, the lady behind the counter asked us if we were looking for anything in particular. Bastard Todd (as I call him in my darker hours) cackled with glee. "I just found it," he said.
That's right, Todd. You gloat. But, game on. From that point forward, the day became as competetive as any January broom ball game, only more violent. We raced through the rest of the mall on high alert, knowing that there could be gold in them thar hills. And while nothing compared to Bastard Todd's find, I was pleased to obtain a pair of Red Wing patio sets in quartette chartreuse for $20 each. (These typically go for $40 or so.) Because these sets use the cup design from Eva Zeisel's Town & Country line, and because the plate is comma-shaped like Town & Country bowls and platters, people often mistake these sets for a Zeisel design. They are not, but they are a fun "go-with" - if you happen to have Town & Country in the rare quartette chartreuse color. (I do not. But still.) I look forward to using them... if not on a patio, well, at least on the couch when watching "Top Chef."
Our next stop was the Antique Mall of Rogers about a mile away. It's a good mall for finding Red Wing, and I am pleased to report that it allowed me an opportunity for redemption. You see, a few weeks prior, I had gone to Stillwater to buy Paul an anniversary present. The piece I had intended to buy was gone, but I found him a terrific Prismatique planter instead. I knew he'd love it. Before I was even out of the store, however, I dropped it. No reason. I just dropped it. It fell all of two feet to the carpeted floor and broke. (A few small children who were shopping with their parents will need therapy in their later years after hearing the stream of foul language pour out of my mouth. They'll wonder why antiques make them scared and a little nauseous.) But there, at the Antique Mall of Rogers, was the same planter, except in a better color. Paul's adorable smiling face as he examined it for flaws told me all I needed to know. "Happy anniversary," I said, and took it up to the counter.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the store, Matt found an Irish stoneware egg coddler. If I had known he was the sort to coddle eggs, I'm not sure I would have invited him in my car. I'm liberal, but there are limits.
Since buying my precious egg coddler, I have learned that there is not much difference between a coddled egg and a warmed raw egg. (How would Jimmy Buffet put it? "Wastin' away again in Salmonella-ville.") The coddler looks great on my shelf -- and that's what counts! The only thing I'll be coddling in the forseeable future is our kitty, Olive.
Posted by: Matt | February 04, 2009 at 12:09 PM