We're at the Antiques Road Show

See oval shaped track from the water?

Tuesday (16th June) we had a false crawl in front of our condo; this means the turtle came up on the beach started to nest and was spooked, so left without laying the eggs. No sign of her on our plot since. 

OK, so it was the local Pinellas County Heritage Village Antique Appraisal Fair (oral appraisals from local experts at $12 for 3 items). By the way in the USA anything over 50 years is considered 'antique' as we learnt in our Tampa History class and 100 years for a building is a really big deal.

We took the quilt my Aunt gave me and pictures of my grandma's furniture to the Antique Fair on Saturday. We weren't so much interested in a $ figure as learning about age/style/content of the furniture.

Our 'luck of the draw' was a lady (Laura Collum) from Collum Antiques in Belleair Bluffs. She said the furniture market was depressed (due to the housing market crash) and she used to carry a lot quilts, but Japanese quilts entering the market really depressed quilt prices.

Our Bradley Family Quilt (see blog post of 22 March) is likely a 1870-1890's original patchwork (from the style of scrap fabric handiwork) either damaged or never finished and then later redone with the blue velvet border and backing. Perhaps original was / was intended to be fan quilt.

The Victorian Boudoir Chair (wide seat designed for bustle dresses) could be Victorian or 1920's reproduction; has been recovered, original fabric likely red velvet or silk. She was intrigued by the wood carving on it and asked if we could have acquired it from the Caribbean (not likely!).

bungalow with native planting

And speaking of antiques, we went on a walking tour of the historic neighborhood of Kenwood, an urban residential district just west of downtown St Petersburg.  Its claim to fame is the intact nature of the neighborhood 1920's - 1950's bungalow architecture of circa 1,100 homes. The area was developed by Charles Hall starting in 1913, with the highest concentration of 1920's Craftsman style bungalows in Florida - this style is generally two bedroom cottages with hardwood floors, fireplaces(!), big windows and large wraparound porches promoting community interaction.

The area has big deciduous oak trees, brick streets and alleyways still intact. It has been making a come back from the mid 1990's. Our guide seemed amazed a house could still be standing after 90 years and finds it novel to walk to a restaurant / grocery - so we didn't tell him about our 'relatively new' London Edwardian home with 3 grocery chains within 2 blocks.

Alleyway

It's hot, hot hot; our local headline is "Dangerous Heat Expected in Tampa Bay." We have 'feels like' temperatures in the 100's. Seems hotter this year for some reason.

Hence the thunderstorms and lightening shows have been tremendous as easterly land winds clash into westerly sea breezes. You can actually see the clouds forming, feel the air change, and track the storm gathering strength before rolling across the sky to us. It never amazes me that people don't know when to get off the beach.  We live in the lightening capital of Florida which is the lightening capital of the USA!  People get struck by lightening every year here.

Wednesday (the 10th June) someone called out for a sea rescue within sight of our condo. Unfortunately after a police boat arrived plus 8 beach-based emergency workers with 2 fire trucks, it turned out to be a false alarm and one of the guys went BACK in the water - unbelievable and the cost to the public purse for false alarms runs into the millions here in little old Mad Beach each year! 

Now just to understand the lightening here's some tips from a recent article from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - during a lightening storm or whenever you can hear thunder:

• Use cellular or cordless phone; do not use corded phones;
• You can safely use remote controls, but do not touch electrical equipment such as computers, TVs or cords;
• Do not wash your hands, take a shower, wash dishes or do laundry;
• Stay away from windows, doors and porches; and
• Do not lie or sit on concrete floors or lean against concrete walls.

Lie down to view picture - LOL

There is a slight problem for mini me on the last point as she lives in a condo block with concrete floors, walls and ceilings! Recently we have had waves of lightening storms throughout the day & night (some without rain) so avoiding all the above activities means . . . Hubby says we will just have to stay in bed!!

Bed not a bad place to be as America seems to be the consumption capital of the world (as in buying cheap plastic gadgets you really don't need - I call them plastic bits) and communications, including the news, feel very superficial to us.  End of cultural reflection!  It's not all bad, mini me just saw the green flash -- her second time!!