What a fun day! It's always a treat to meet forum members who you've posted with for a long time. Jessica pretty much covered the highlights of our cruising around the area, except for the Intervention which prevented her son from being the only college freshman whose mom bought him boots to wear when it rained. LOL She brought a California map so we could see where she and other western CF'ers live. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting The Evil One and the Cloudy One and look forward to the next CF GTG. Thanks again for the goodies. I've already used the pod for blanching peaches and it's a good size for my everyday cooking for two. The un-exotic story of the tattoo is that it was a 60th birthday gift to myself. The design is a typical PA Dutch motif that I've used variations of in needlework projects since I was a little girl. Annie, They're hot pork (beef, turkey, ham) sandwiches here too and on the menu of every diner or family restaurant. It was perfect fare since I recently had dental surgery.

The Perkiomenville Auction is still going -- every Monday year round. There are still dealers and the auction part. There are far fewer dealers than there used to be -- I would recommend if you are going to have a far drive to go on a holiday weekend like memorial day or labor day as that is the only time the auction is really hopping anymore. (Though the first few nice Mondays of spring are also bound to be crowded.) The deaers also don't seem to start as early as they used to -- used to be most dealers were there and set up by dawn. Now if I get there at 7 or 8 it is still empty -- people are rolling in to set up when I am leaving at 9. Again, though, the holiday weekends are an exception -- best to be early those days. I did figure out the auction tables thing - yes, you can pick through things left behind. Technically, though, I think you are supposed to offer money to the woman collecting money for the auctioneer for what you take -- I have seen her yell at people. But there are always a ton of people taking stuff and not being very subtle about it (they bring boxes and tote bags and load up) and no one seems to pay. I'm pretty sure that what gets left behind gets tossed unless the consignor comes back to get it (and most of it is like mildewy clothes and moldy books, etc. that you know no one is coming back for) so I guess it is better that people take it than it goes in a landfill somewhere. I have also bid on things at the auction - it is exactly like I described above - a crowd of people standing around an unorganized pile of stuff, while the auctioneer holds something up. Bidding usually starts at a dollar. The winning bidder hands over cash and puts his new item in a pile -- by the end of the auction, there are piles of people's wins all over the place. I have seen some really nice furniture go for very cheap (most of the other bidders are dealers looking to buy low for a profit, so it is not hard to outbid them if it is something you want for yourself.) But I have also seen them auction TOTAL junk -- furniture that is moldy or falling apart, broken glass patio tables, etc. In fact one day they auctioned a plastic covered cat litterbox that still had litter and cat poop in it. No, I am not kidding and no it did not sell LOL! I think they literally load the truck up at a house cleanout and bring it directly to the auction as is -- thus the litterbox full of poop etc. At one point, I was waiting around to bid on one oak schoolhouse chair that matched my kitchen chairs. The lot before it was 4 kind of ugly folding chairs from the 40s. When those didn't get bids, the auctioneer added my oak chair to the lot. I was the only bidder and got all 5 chairs for a dollar. I had no use for the 4 folding chairs and when a guy next to me saw that I was planning to leave them behind, he asked if he could have them and I gave them to him. I ended up with another chair for my kitchen table for the sum total of $1 and he ended up with 4 free folding chairs. So anyhow, that might be more than you wanted to know but there you go.

Sharon, thanks for the response. I will have to see how far that would be from us. We are meeting in Fredericksburg at my sister's lake cottage. I think it would be doable as I take 81/83 from Camp Hill and I remember seeing signs for Chambersburg. I am not super familiar with the area and my sister won't drive on anything but a 2 lane country road so it will be up to me to do the driving/piloting! Again, thanks for the suggestion. Satine

What difference at this point does it make whether the gold will wear off in a dishwasher. Unless one is talking about highly valuable stuff which is unlikely, just use it and enjoy it while you are alive. I inherited the Limoges china from my grandmother - Bernardaud from probably the 1930's. It's pretty but I know that it's not exceptionally valuable because the market is absolutely glutted with sets like mine. No one in my family wants it - I literally could not give it away so I am using it - more or less. I say more or less because I don't have a lifestyle either where I need 16 places including multiple size plates and bowls - various tureens - jam pots etc. I am surprised no one has mentioned the recent New York Times article - When Antiques Go - which discusses the reality of the decline in interest and consequently value of "antique" stuff as the market is glutted. Obviously there are some rare pieces which retain some value although less than what they would have brought a decade or so ago but the bulk of the nice "middle class" stuff that is likely to have been in my people's homes really has no value except the decorative - if. you like it, use it because it might actually be less expensive than a comparable new piece of furniture. I recently remodeled and redecorated and got rid of a lot of stuff that had accumulated through the years - some of which I inherited and kept from a sense of guilt and sentiment. I got rid of quite a bit and discovered that mine had essentially no market value but was lucky enough to home it to a friend's family who needed furniture. Mine was mostly in the category of very nice Victorian type of stuff - probably late 19th Century. I did retain those items which I still liked and pretty much those were those items which I had purchased and liked and continued to like. I was pretty consistent in liking Art Deco and Art Nouveau. But they are interspersed with new items although ironically most of my new items are Art Deco inspired - at least I am consistent. But none of the heavy brown furniture remains. While the article discusses staging in terms of prospective buyers not being able to get pass old fashioned cluttered spaces, I think the gist of the article is on the difficulty of getting rid of stuff when the time comes - for whatever reason - when one no longer wants or needs what one has accumulated. When Antiques Have To Go