Antiquing anyone?

As I am still working on painting my bookcases and a little discouraged with how long its taking...it's actually the dry time between coats that is taking so long...I was so ready for a break when my friend stopped by to see if I wanted to go check out a new antique shop in town. Of course I did! So off we went to what we thought was a small antique shop. We were so wrong on the "small" part of it...much to our delight it was huge! It was set up as most antiques stores are with booths owned by different people. It was funny to see each booths' theme or what that owner was interested in collecting. Some were full of all dishes...some had mostly mason jars...some were books and nicknacks...some were all old Coca-Cola memorabilia...and on and on the rows of booths went.

My Dad was a big antique collector but he wasn't a fan of antique stores because he thought they were too expensive. So I remember as a kid going to huge flea markets where most of the stuff was junk and being there for hours while my Dad sifted through all the junk to find the treasures. (Which is where I think I get my love of all things old and the patience it takes to look through it all.) He liked things like old iron fans with the cages around them. He would get one for like $4, get it home and take it out to the garage where he would sand it smooth, redo the wiring so the fan would work again and then finally spray paint it to look like new.  We had a number of those fans around the house and boy could they kick out some wind. He never sold any of the stuff he refinished, I think he just enjoyed doing it. And now that I am an adult and my Dad has moved away with a new family, it really takes me back to being a kid going through antiques...and I think that's why so many of us love antiques. It's because there is some kind of emotion that goes along with finding something that takes you back.