The girl I left behind me...

My great-aunt passed away about a month ago, the last of that generation in the family. My grandfather is still alive and well, but Aunt Eldora was his brother's wife, and his brother was ten years older than he was. They may be considered the same generation in years, but there was a definite cultural gap there...and now no more. My mother has heroically spent the last few weeks driving down to Jackson to help empty out the old house, until now--there's still a ton of stuff left, but whatever isn't spoken for has been willed to the couple's old church.

So a couple days ago, my mom called me and said, "You've inherited an antique buffet. Now we just have to go get it." She didn't think it would fit in my car, but I measured and it would, so we drove down to Jackson on Friday night to pick it up. I was totally unprepared for the state of the house and nearly had a panic attack--which is why I say my mother has been "heroically" helping out--but we managed to get the buffet in the car without too much trouble. As a bonus, I also walked off with a severely water-damaged old dresser. It only had two and a half of its original casters, all damaged, and you could see the mildew from a past basement flood. We lashed it to the top of the car, though, and drove off.

Today, then, was spent cleaning up neglected old furniture. The buffet has really grown on me, helped in no small part by how ecstatic the older relatives all are by the fact that it's still in the family. It's really too heavy and dark for my taste--I would never buy it for myself--but it was free, it's quite spacious, I need the storage, and it's mine. I like to think my great-grandma would be pleased I've got it. And the dresser, well, it was like an episode of Extreme Makeover, Old Crappy Furniture Edition. It's still airing out, and it's still obviously old, but it no longer looks like a piece of trash! Anyway, since all you really want is to see what I'm yammering about, pictures:



( A few more. Both are still a work in progress, obviously. )

The buffet wasn't nearly as gross as the dresser, but the top of it is peeling away from the body, so it'll need a little TLC. Hopefully tomorrow, they'll be in my apartment!

So instead of antique shopping every day, I just visit Craigslist and type in "antique" to the "for sale" search. Mostly it's either overpriced, not-that-old "antiques," or just old junk. But occasionally, something like this dresser will catch my eye.

I have no idea as to what age it could be, what style furniture, nothin'...but it looks pretty. And that's a reasonable price, as long as it's a reasonable piece--good condition, usable, etc. I've been looking for something to replace a set of Rubbermaid drawers I've been using to store sewing supplies. The only other thing I've even considered as a possibility was a sheet music cabinet at Somewhere in Thyme in Grandville...but it's missing half the back and would need a replacement shelf in order to really be usable.

This dresser is actually cheaper, and I might even like the design on the front more. I emailed to ask for dimensions, though, because if I go see it and am interested, it has to be able to fit a) in my car and b) in my apartment before I'll fork over any cash.

Also, I just saw that this drysink has popped up again. The same person has been listing it for varying prices since...oh, last fall. This wouldn't be quite as serviceable as the dresser, I think, but I've been eyeballing it for a while. Hmmm.