Small Town Friday

I spent today in Ft. Payne, Alabama. Today was too beautiful to spend dashing about at odd hours to stand in line to get "good deals" on more stuff we don't need. Black Friday? Bah, humbug!

After a charming luncheon with my mother-in-law & sister-in-law, I was ready to take a walk. For once Brenda could enjoy playing with the children instead of rushing off to teach. I wanted to browse the shops on Gault Avenue. Scott grew up here and remembered when Gault Avenue was the heart of commerce. The stores he remembers as a kid are not there; he was afraid it would be too depressing.

Not me! I saw a sunny & mild day! I felt a refreshing wind! I thought of the boutiques and antique shops lining the thoroughfare. I wanted to examine all of the windows... and get to finally visit the park.

Scott relented and came with me. (I guess he wanted to make sure I stuck to my promise to "not spend too much.") Hand-in-hand we walked. We had a lovely afternoon.

We walked down to City Park. All of the holiday lights were up. The city installed the refinished fountain from the old DeKalb Hotel, which had stood not far from there along the railroad about 100 years ago. I was so glad to see it. For the longest while it had stood in the garden of a home on Alabama Avenue; when I'd stopped seeing it last year, I was worried it'd been sold or stolen. We like the old things, he & I.

We marveled at a ginko tree so large, that it had to be as old as the fountain. I'd love to get a photo of it in the spring.

Walking back up the avenue, Scott gazed appreciatively at two specimens of local man's car collection. Brenda thinks she remembers teaching him music.

We wandered though the antiques at The Strand. We also drooled over the beefy smells coming from their lunch counter. That must have been some good grilling if it made us hungry just an hour after supper! (We want to eat there soon.)

We saw items that made us think of growing up around our parents and grandparents; we are so vintage retro. I decided that I must have two unique plates. Anodized aluminum tumblers, vintage & modern retro abound, and it's not hard to find many other example of aluminum kitchenware. I, myself, have a Mirro cookie press, miscellaneous cookie cutters and a handful of prep tools.

These plates, however, I've never seen the like. I cannot even find anything like them on the Internet. I wonder if they might be a handicraft instead of a produced item. The plates themselves are different-- the blue is brushed, the copper is polished, and both have different depths.

Neither have a "mark," so it's almost impossible to determine the age or maker. They are adorable (and orange & blue!) and Scott is going to let the kids wrap them up for me for Christmas. After that, I'm going to try my hand at hanging them on a kitchen cabinet door.

Our last stop was a framing gallery. We found prints of old photos of Ft. Payne and DeKalb County. Many of the photos were taken of Gault Avenue. They made Scott smile. One showed the old Coca-Cola bottler; that building is what now houses that car collection. The gallery also sells Orbix Hot Glass. Ooo... want! I like glass. I like hand-blown glass. I like bright colors. I like local artists. I like! We didn't get any glass; I couldn't decide what to invest in (the prices are reasonable for what the pieces are, it's just that it's the end of the month.) Then there's the question of where to put it where the kids couldn't kill it. But I can dream, can't I?

We walked hand-in-hand back to his childhood home, where our kids were making memories. We had our own new memories. It was well dark when we said our goodbyes later. For fun, so the kids could see the holiday decorations, we drove up to the park so we could drive down Gault Avenue. With everything glowing, even the marquee of the DeKalb Theater, it looked liked a setting from a Capra movie.

Now THAT is the way to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving.