Trav and the "Game Ball" and Brimfield

It was a sunny Saturday this morning when all of the daily adventures started. Travis had a game at 10:30 that I missed. Bad Mommy! I missed the game where he got 3 good hits because he batted righty instead of lefty (he is a lefty when he writes but appears to be more comfortable doing most other things righty... sorry to my husband who was really banking on him being a southpaw). He also made a few good plays in the field. At the end of the game he was given the game ball! Was I there? Nope! But he was thrilled with it anyways. I am hoping that now that he learns a little more about the workings of the game of baseball, he will be a little more enthusiastic about it!

So where was I while my son was meeting with baseball success???? I went to Brimfield Antique Fair and Flea Market (Less of a Flea Market and more of a Antique Show... pricey pricey pricey!) I went with my mom, my mother in law, and my husband's grandmother. There was so much to see! We had a lot of fun just poking around. I bought some little things here and there. I passed up a lot, also (John would have been proud). We have very little room left in out tiny house. We are remodeling soon so we will have a lot of revamping to do when it is over. But we will have to pack a lot away in the meantime. So big pieces were off limits at the fair this year. Instead, I concentrated on little gadgets and kitchen things. Here is a picture of my finds:
I have made cyber-friends with a woman in Pennsylvania and we have a trade going... she looks for blue graniteware and I look for white enamelware with red trim. I found a few pieces for her at Brimfield for good prices. I was not so lucky with the blue graniteware. The pieces I saw were either overpriced or a duplicate of what I already have. So I bypassed a few roasting pans. I did manage to get a pie plate and a sauce pan. My trading buddy just found some more pie plates and a basin where she lives so my collection is filling out nicely.

The thing I was the most excited about is this Norton stoneware crock. It says "Frank B. Norton, Worcester, Mass. on it. The man said the design was called a butterfly design. There are other kinds of Norton stoneware from Vermont. But I am particularly interested in the Worcester Norton Stoneware. My mom and my Mother in Law split the price of this for my birthday (which is not until July). They knew how important it was to me. I kind of felt queasy when they were paying. It was a great price for Norton Stoneware, but it was still a lot of money.
I like the Worcester Norton pieces because I live in a part of the city that is known as Norton Village. The houses in my neighborhood were built in the beginning of the 20th century for the immigrants that came to work at Norton Company, which was just down the hill. They let their employees buy these small houses for a song. Each house started with the same four room set up. Two bedrooms and a bath upstairs and a kitchen and living room downstairs. The original house is 800ish sq. ft. Most of the houses have had additions put on them. Our kitchen is one of the additions. Now we are adding on again. My house was built in 1918 (the last year when the Red Sox won the World Series before 2004). When we were looking at houses we took that as a sign.

My Gram L. also worked at Norton Company for many years. She was also born in 1918, just like our house. Another sign that this was OUR house! She passed away in 1997, and right after that I began dating my terrific husband. In 2004 we found the house. It was like she was up there guiding us to it!


I decided to use the crock to house some of my wooden rolling pins. I can't wait until construction is done and I can find a place to display this stuff appropriately. All in all it was a successful trip to Brimfield. I think we wore Grandma Peg out but we had fun. We got out of there as the dark clouds came rolling in.

On another note, my brother Scott will be happy to know that my son and his buddy from up the street found a baby squirrel that they became quite fond of watching. Travis decided to name him Scott! Anyone who knows kids understands that this is a high form of praise if a child names something after you. He was trying to get him to come out by saying, "Here Scott! Come here, Scott!" The fun we have on a Friday night!

Tomorrow my main goal is to straighten up the house. It is a pig sty! It will be nice to hang out at home!
Hope everyone else enjoys the weekend as much as I am!