Everything Has a Story -- A Curved Glass China Cabinet It Only Took 45 Years

 Our dining room

Before

To the left of the window is an Asian chest

which we bought about 13 years ago

Supposedly it is an antique

I think once upon a time buyers would go to China

and buy anything old looking and ship it back

(or buy anything that the Chinese said was old and ship it back)

And it was sold as "antique"

It held my china

And I have lots

It kept it behind closed doors

A look that I liked at one time

Some of my silver napkin rings ringed the top

Sometimes, however, you want change

And I decided that I would like people to see my pretty china

So I started a quest to find a china cabinet

There were "rules"

in my quest

a - it had to be old

b - it had to "make a statement"

(for the Asian cabinet did)

c - it had to be reasonably priced

(No $3,000 cabinets for me!)

I trolled Craig's List

Clear up to Nebraska

(although how I would have gotten it home, I'm not sure)

And found a couple

In that $2,000 to $3,000 price range!

And a lot of "cheap", "new" versions of

a curved glass oak china cabinet

I did find one locally

Old

But didn't make a statement except it was really tall

And it was $1,000

(which was a little more than I thought it was worth!)

And then on Facebook . . . 

I see this picture

OMG, I say to myself

That looks really neat!

And then they posted the second picture

"Perfect" I thought

The pictures were advertising a farm auction (which also included household goods)

on Black Friday

The forecast for Black Friday -- rain!

The pictures of the furniture were inside

So I thought the sale (at least of the furniture) would be inside!

Wrong!

The forecast was right!

It started raining Thanksgiving night

And it was raining Friday morning

"Wrap up well and layer"

Husband Jim said to me as I headed out

(But the furniture is going to be inside the house, I thought, as I also grabbed my

needlepoint which should occupy me while I waited for the item to come up for bid)

I did grab a coat, and wore a long sleeve turtleneck and a cardigan

But I also wore my everyday crocs

Parking was hazardous

for it a sea of mud

And I almost got stuck in the mud leading into the designated parking

But I got myself free

And found parking on wet but solid ground further up.

The auction, I learned, was all in a shed down the way

And so I sloshed through puddles and mud to the shed where all the household merchandise was

And there . . . 

Leaning against the wall was that cabinet

More magnificent than the picture showed

For it had claw feet!

I sighed!

$1,000 thought I

The other one in Fort Scott was $1,000

This was a much better piece

And so I set that as my limit

Of course, the furniture was not first

The "little" household goods were.

The rain pouring outside

The ground in the shed getting muddy in spots

I found a chair and proceeded to needlepoint

But it was cold

My hands were cold

My body was cold

And my feet were freezing

For beside regular crocs, I wore no socks!

I put aside the needlepoint,

tucked my hands inside my sleeves

But there was no warmth for my toes

Which were freezing!

The crowd was small

Few women for it was a farm auction

(read tractors and bailers and tools)

But I did watch many come and look at my cabinet

Finally, they started on the furniture

And it went cheap

Really cheap

There were few antiques

And what was there was not in prime condition

Finally, they got to the china cabinet

"$500" said the auctioneer

"who'll give me $500"

no one did

"$300, who'll give me $300"

no one did

So I jumped in with a hundred dollar bid

And I had someone bidding against me

Then someone else bidding against me

It rose quickly at $25 intervals

But then at $200, I had the bid

And no one else bid any more!

It was mine!

I had made previous arrangements to have it brought home

if I was successful

So I called and set the time for pick up and delivery

And then I slogged through the mud and mire and rain

Got a big cup of cocoa

Sat in the car with the heater on high

And thawed from the inside out!

And finally it was delivered

Looking more perfect than I thought

A nicer piece than I thought I would ever get

I had unloaded the Asian chest while I waited for delivery

The dining room was piled high in china

As tempted as I was to begin "playing" with my new toy

The old glass had been out in the cold all day

And I didn't want it to crack

So I let it get adjusted to the warmth of the house

This morning, after breakfast,

I got to play . . . 

And everything fit into the cabinet

(with the exception of the silver trays which I knew would not)

And before lunch it looked like this!

The Aynsley Pembroke plates are on the lower shelf on the left

Grandmother's Noritake plates are on the right

And platters are in between

Grandmother's Noritake is on the shelf above

(as well as some lovely little odd white with gold trimmed cups and saucers that I adore)

Miscellaneous bowls and plates are on the next shelf

The Aynsley Pembroke is on the fourth shelf up

While the top shelf holds the partial set of

white with gold trim Old Paris that I got for a song

here in Fort Scott

My silver napkin rings ring the top of the china cabinet

While crystal pitchers and the silver coffee urn are also on the top

Husband Jim decided that the cabinet was my Anniversary Present

I adore it!

I only wish he could have attended the auction with me

(but he's home recovering from surgery

and so I had to "go it alone")

The new look in the dining room with the china cabinet on the left

(The middle table was changed out eons ago and the mirror dispensed with --

It's an civil war era dining room piece and holds the tea service and punch bowl nicely)

The dining room as you see from the front door --

It's decorated for late November

with colorful mums in the epergne

And the turkey salt and pepper on the sideboard

The Story of "Why Forty-five Years"

We celebrated our 46th Anniversary on Thanksgiving

When we were first married we had little money

And so our furniture purchases were "used" furniture

Mostly golden oak which was just "used" at that time

rather than the antique it did become.

And I so wanted then a curved glass china cabinet

Really, really bad

And "plain" ones

(not as fancy as the one I got)

were $100

which was a lot of money in 1969/70

We really couldn't afford it

And I never got one

Not even a plain one

So forty-five years later,

I finally got my curved glass china cabinet

And I am elated!

It is a statement piece

It does hold all my china

(but I'm not sure how much more it would hold --

which Jim thinks is a good thing)

And the price was definitely right!

I smile as I walk through the dining room and see the cabinet

And I shall never forget that "Black Friday" when I bought the cabinet

in the rain and the cold and how miserable I was

waiting for it to come up for bid!

It will always remind me of cold and rain!

And when I walk past it, I get shivers
From excitement
Or remembering the cold and the rain?

Husband Jim likes the piece

(He had only seen the picture)

And was only too happy to gift me with the china cabinet for our anniversary.

It was one of the best anniversary presents ever!

And as my son-in-law's Aunt Jo said

"I think china cabinets are one of my most favorite things.    

they are usually full of memories and family stories of great times past."