Curio cabinet, happy ending and goldfinches

 - The story of my new cabinet:  My sister and I walked by a newly opened antiques shop in Thomasville, Georgia on the day after Christmas.  She said that building had been a hardware store for years.  A hand inside the window waved at us, so we went in.  While my sis talked to the very nice lady who had waved, I walked around and browsed.  Tucked away in the corner was a lighted curio cabinet with a "Sale" tag of $50 on it.  I thought, "$50????  Hmmm...how could I get that home?"  I knew just the spot for it in my dining room.  We left and I mulled it over while we walked around town.  I mentioned to her that I thought I might like that cabinet and she said it would fit in the back of her SUV, so we went back, only to find the shop had closed for the day.  I snapped a photo of the telephone number posted on the door and finally called about it during the last week of January.  The shop lady said she was very sorry, she was using it as a display case now.  Well shoot.  I cajoled and made my case, but no, she was firm - it was no longer for sale.  (It's in the photo above - found on their facebook page. Click to enlarge.  Far left corner in the back.)

- As you can see from this photo, this story has a happy ending - here it is in the corner of my dining room with contents from around my home in place.  I adore it.  :)  Here's what happened:  My sister and I were talking on the phone about her upcoming trip to visit me in Atlanta on the first week of February and I told her my tale of woe about the cabinet, adding "I should have bought it on the spot when I saw it."  She said, "I'm going to Thomasville tomorrow (she lives about 30 miles away in northern Florida) and I'll see what I can do."  She walked into the shop and pleaded my case again for me, by saying that she was coming up for my birthday and would love to surprise me.  She walked around the shop browsing and the shop lady thought about it, "It's her birthday?  Really?"  My sister called me while I was driving home that afternoon, "You owe me $53.50!" :)  The very nice lady had acquiesced.  Here it is and I adore it.  We need to send my sis to Washington, I think.

- Sara says my birds from the last post might very well be goldfinches.  How about that?  And perfect that I am reading the book, "The Goldfinch" right now.  I can hardly put it down at this point.   Click on the red link for Stephen King's review in The New York Times Book Review.  If he liked it, that's good enough for me.

Thanks for coming by!  Have a great weekend!