Talking Shop...
 We’ve been rearranging our entire office during the last few months, and one of the jobs has been to move our Old Stuff library from one end of the building to the other. Since our library consists of several thousand books (although as I hauled them, I was thinking maybe a million,) it’s been time consuming and tiring.
Part of the reason for the time consuming was the fact that the books were getting seriously out of order, making it hard to find what was needed. The other reason was that I kept finding books that I’d forgotten we had, and would sit down to read, or at least thumb through them. (That helped out the tiring part of the job, however.)
One of the little books that surfaced is called Cupid’s Book. From the contents, it clearly came from Lincoln, Nebraska, because there are a lot of ads from Lincon in it, although no publication date. I’m guessing that it was given to newlyweds, because the front page carries an endorsement from Robin R. Reid, County Judge, and was “distributed by the courtesy of and through his office.”
The publisher of the book makes his statement near the beginning. Interestingly, in one paragraph it sounds a lot like the statement we often make in Old Stuff:
“It may be well to call your attention… to the Merchants who have made this book possible… and if you in your measure of appreciation for this … will patronize them whenever you have the opportunity… it will be a pleasure to them to know that their investment in this book has been worth while…” Just substitute Old Stuff for book, and stop in the shops that are advertised here.
Cupid’s Book has lots of information for newlyweds and now, approximately 100 years later, most of it is still sound, such as “budget your income” and “save something every week.” However, some suggestios have long since passed their usefulness: “Have you a table in your house of the legal weights per bushel of foodstuffs in your state?” I don’t think I even know what that means.
Next, I got sidetracked by the birth month gems, their sentiment and flower. Now I know that June is the pearl or moonstone, purity is the sentiment, and a daisy is the flower.
There are a couple of pages of helpful hints, too. Did you know that olive oil applied to the finger tips each night will do away with brittle fingernails? Or that a pinch of salt added to ground coffee before boiling it will improve the flavor? (Boiled coffee???)
At any rate, bit by bit, with lots of browsing interspersed, our library has been moved and is now where it is available for reference purposes by customers, guests, antique dealers and collectors who want to stop in and use it. You are invited to join them.
Donna Miller
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Travel & Antiquing Are
A Perfect Pair
 I grew up in a family that didn’t take many vacations and certainly didn’t spend a lot of time on the road. My hard-working father worked a full-time job and spent evenings and weekends working in our basement making additional money for the rest of us. My mother never worked outside the home but she had her hands plenty full raising three sons.
I remember a few fishing and camping trips but I don’t recall ever staying in a hotel or motel.
But, of course, time shares hadn’t been invented as yet. And, even if they had been, the lack of free time and extra money was a major deterrent.
Our kids were practically raised when we got our “first” opportunity to buy a time share, and, at that time, they had mostly experienced tents and trailers. (You can drive all the way to Nebraska without using a motel).
We didn’t realize then that Time Shares and Antiquing were as compatible as Romeo & Juliet, Tony & Cleo, Laurel & Hardy or Democrats & Repub licans. (Whoops! I got three out of four, anyway.)
Time shares to share with friends, antiquing in every part of the country, and long, wonderful trips were all made possible on that fateful day when we said “Yes” to a time share salesman.
We love to visit a new part of the country at a time share that we have booked through one of the exchange systems. We get to spend a week in a new area, which is long enough to take in all the sights and still canvas every antique store or mall within drivable miles. We prefer driving when possible because you can only carry so much “stuff” without turning the rest of your purchases over to dreaded baggage handlers. They “paw” through your things, carefully unwrapping what you have so carefully wrapped and practically assuring you that something isn’t going to make it.
If you are an antiquer, you might want to not say NO the next time you are offered a few bucks to take a time share tour. It might be as nice an addition to your life style as it has been for ours.
On the other hand, you have to learn to say NO most of the time or you might end up with more trips than you want to take and less money to spend on the collection.
Every time I think I have Donna convinced that we don’t need $75 enough to listen to one more sales pitch, she signs us up anyway.
The last occasion was just a few weeks ago on the Oregon coast. In order to get our parking permit we had to learn about an opportunity to get an update on our ownership. That’s time-share-speak for “we want to sell you more of what you already have.” We were assured that it was something new: a pilot program to help us make better use of our time shares.
Guess what? It was a sales pitch.
We probably have too many time share weeks and/or points (you can use points to stay a few days instead of a week, which is sometimes nice.) but we love the resorts that we have purchased, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
May you be so lucky!!
Ron Miller
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