Blue Flowers

So, word on the street (or maybe the phone) is that I need to be writing here more often. I guess I gotta try, huh?

To the right you can see a picture of three different opal glass makers take on blue flowers. This is a very popular style choice, it seems. I bought all of these on the same day, at three different thrift stores. They are Federal Glass, Glasbake, and Anchor Hocking. Seems that one doesn't have to be too picky if they simply want their kitchen done up in blue flowers. And these are just the three that I bought! There were several others that I passed up due to cost or conditon, or both. Seems that the word "Pyrex" on a piece makes it worth a lot, even if it isn't even usable. (In one case, they were charging more for a loaf pan of new design than I paid for them at Walmart!)

Okay, I am going off on price tangents here...please bear with me as I get back into the groove of writing about Pyrex.

To be continued...some other day...

Termo-Rey of Sunshine

So, as has been established, I love Pyrex (Der!). I never understood why Pyrex patterns were on Corelle, rather than making lovely dishes with the patterns that looked so great on opal glass. Unlike many Pyrex collectors, I really am in it for the style of glass, not the patterns, and therefore don't collect Corelle, or Corning, or really anything outside of opal glass if I can help it. (I will make exception for a really old piece of Pyrex that came in clear before they really started developing their opal glass and colored prints.)

Then I discovered Termo-Rey. Termo-Rey is an odd little company that made blatant rip-offs of 70's Pyrex patterns, and put them on a lot of dinnerware, such as the bowls, mugs and saucers seen here. The pieces are never exactly like the Corelle that they were obviously meant to replace/compete with, and the colors are often a little off, but I find them so much more lovely to look at. Why would I buy such obvious copies? I am in it for the opal glass. These pretties were made in Brazil, and apparently are widely available in Canadian thrift stores. I had never seen anything like them until I moved up here, but have since purchased quite a bit in the Woodland pattern. (My husband's most hated pattern, but that is a story for another day.) Now, I don't see as much Corelle in the thrift stores here as I used to see back home. My theory is that the glass-maker was filling a demand in this area for the Corelle, that may not have been as readily available. I haven't done a lot of research as to why I can find this and not much Corelle, so this is only a theory. I will have to look into it further.

I am hoping that I will find some in the Spring Blossom pattern, or more pieces in Old Town Blue, which my husband seems to like the look of. (We now have 5 or 6 salad/cake plates in that pattern.) The other pattern that they seemed to make a lot of that was close in style was Butterfly Gold. I adore that pattern, but that is for weird sentimental reasons, and it doesn't begin to go with my kitchen. (Neither do the others, come to think of it...)

I am curious if other people are as interested in the look of Termo-Rey as I am. Anyone want to weigh in on that?

Totally Hit the Jackpot!

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Halifax on immigration business. We figured that since it is an hour and a half to get to Halifax in the first place, that we would just make a day of it. First stop was Canadian Immigrations, which was much more uneventful than I anticipated...however, I am officially a permanent resident! Still can't work just yet, but I am so close I can taste it. After the trip to Immigrations, (where the same man who signed my papers at the real border also signed my landing papers...weird) we wandered around downtown Halifax for a bit, and then went for lunch at the Economy Shoe Shop. (Very tasty, and the ambiance is amazing!) Now comes the fun part! (Fun for me anyway.)

I had mapped out several places for thrifting in the area. I needed to do some shopping in a "real" thrift store, as most of the shops around here are tiny, or deal pretty exclusively in used textiles. Oh sure, Frenchy's has its charm, and my little Salvation Army has some cute stuff occasionally, but I needed something different.

First store was the Salvation Army on Green Street. I found a "Friendship" pattern lid there, which was pretty cool, since I use the lids for crafty reasons. Also found an "Old Town Blue" mug, and a really pretty plate that was indeed just about as new as I thought. (Bought it anyway. It was green!) A few other less notable pieces, some barware for Mark. Most people would be content with this...I was not.

Next we went to Finer Things on Agricola. Lovely antique store...if you can afford antique store prices. They weren't outrageous, but they were still a bit out of my pricerange. I would go back again.

Have you ever shopped at an Army surplus store? We stopped at one of those, too, and it was weird. Some of the things they sold there made me think they were attempting to profit on the spoils of war...sad thing about said items...war seemed to spoil them. I realize that they items there are not actually spoils of any war...but it was weird. When a friend of Mark's told me too look there for old housewares, I thought she was kidding. Turns out, she wasn't. They were old alright...

Back into the car, and off to Value Village. I had never been to one before, but WOW! They are high-priced for a thrift store, but the stuff they had was great. Butterfly Gold (both mug and 2.5 qt casserole) came from there.

Today I was in Pyrex Heaven! Hmmm....wonder if I have to go to Halifax again on immigration business....