My Solitary Amnesty Day Find

Fall brings many wonderful things to our area and soon I will post pictures of beautiful Maple Avenue in all its flaming color. But there is one week that I hold dear and that is Amnesty Week.

I remember explaining the concept of Amnesty Day to the family I stayed with in Costa Rica. In my best attempt at Spanish, I told them that the town would happily pick up any refuse that one no longer wanted. Living in the land of "Keeping Up with the Jones'" means that there is always a wide assortment of TVs, chairs, tables, sofas, golf clubs, etc. left curbside. They laughed and thought something was lost in translation, but later Enrique (in much better Spanish) confirmed what they called American lunacy.

Back to Amnesty Day...

In the past, I have found some wonderful things, my favorite being my living room coffee table. I sanded and painted it matte black and added some vintage knobs. Very heavy, functional, cute. This year, the scavengers were out en masse, probably due to the nice weather. We had such a busy schedule and shining a flashlight on the curb and/or hoping to catch someone while they are taking their junk to the curb (the best scenario!!) took backseat to a warm bath and good book.

However, this morning C & I were coming home from errands & I spotted IT from the car. Quickly, I pulled into the nearest driveway and retrieved my treasure. It is a beautiful, very old mirror. The white paint is a bit flecked on the scalloped sides and one teeny piece was cracked off. The mirror itself was in stellar condition and just needed a good cleaning. C clapped from his car seat & we headed home.

Tonight, I carefully cleaned the mirror and applied a small bit of spackle over the broken edge. I used a small knife edge to carve a bit before the spackle dried. Good as new.

Here's a picture of the "new" mirror-the oval one, now hanging over my dresser.



Also a picture of my trusty Art Deco lamp, which lights my Bible every night for quiet time. I found it in an antique store in Alexandria; the owner was selling much of her things from her days in Paris. Very heavy, casts beautiful light and patterns on the walls.