A productive day, with unexpected rewards

FireKing Philbe or "Blue Sapphire" 9" pie dish - because the "Fire King" logo is on this, it is most likely circa 1942-1945

Got up this morning determined to get some shit DONE. Lots of niggling little errands laying around here that I had been putting off.

- did a flea market run for produce, and exchanged some jeans I bought last weekend
- hauled off the recycling
- got the oil changed in the blue bomber
- dropped my navy peacoat at the cleaners to be de-Croonerized, and my suit to be cleaned and repaired
- mailed Michael's Christmas present for the third time, hopefully this is the charm
- hauled a load to the thrift store

When I showed up at the Red Ribbon thrift store, our local AIDS charity store, they were closed. I didn't realize they weren't keeping Saturday hours any longer. Fortunately for me, there was a very nice volunteer there working on some stuff and she let me in to take my donation. I had planned on looking around, but didn't want to trouble her more than I already had. She was really nice about it though, and told me to look around; she had to be there anyway. I had already looked at the Goodwill that day, and found nothing. Frankly after last weekend, I figured I had used up my glass luck for some time. I was wrong though. I found some really good stuff at Red Ribbon. They had two little crystal "Colonial" plates that I picked up for cheap ($2 each, valued in my old book at $4.50), and an old Glasbake dish $1.25) that I'm still trying to ID. The find of the day though, was a FireKing "Blue Sapphire" pie dish for $2.

I have been thinking for years that I would start a collection of that bake ware, because I think it is so pretty, but then I would think "Do I really need to start another collection?" Apparently Justin is rubbing off on me; but it was too good of a bargain to leave. I had to have it. And I love it. I'm really glad I went ahead and got it. So I guess I have started another collection. Sigh.

As it was, I wasn't sure I was right when I got it home. I have seen other pieces of this, and recognized the pattern, but the color was so light on this piece, I thought it was crystal. Justin has a book on Collectible 40's, 50's, and 60's, and when we looked it up it only came in blue and ivory. When I put it against the white stove, I could see the blue tinge, so I knew for sure. The book value for that piece is $10. But as I heard a dealer say, he never had a book buy anything. Still I was happy with the deal. I got at least $19 worth of glass for $7.50. Justin came over to hang out last night, so I baked brownies in the pie dish. As it turns out, it is the perfect size for a batch of brownies :)

In another surprise, some purple glasses my dad got for me ended up being listed in Justin's book too. He got them for me because someone told him they were Amethyst Glass. Well one look, and I knew they weren't, so I stuck them in the attic and forgot about them. Turns out I was right and wrong. They aren't antique Amethyst Glass, but they are a color made in the 60's called "Moroccan Amethyst", are now collectible, and valued at $5 each! I'm still using them, but I now understand how older people are so surprised that I am collecting Depression Glass. It's old stuff they threw out. Just like these 60's glasses. LOL

We used the Colonial plates for nibbles, and watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit on TCM. They are doing a month of Oscar winners. I knew it had been nominated for an Oscar, but didn't know it had won 4! In technical categories, but still. I went to see that movie at least 4 times when it came out. I was fascinated by Jessica Rabbit, without understanding why. She was my first drag queen. Her number in the movie is burned into my synapses. I put a poster of her over my bed. Dad was happy because she was a she, and I was happy because she was my hero. And Kathleen Turner's sultry voice was so glamorously wiskey-sexy, who couldn't listen to her over and over?