SuzAnna's Antiques - Bigger and Better!

You may recall I mentioned my favorite shop for treasure hunting here in Raleigh, SuzAnna's Antiques, has been busy building an addition. This past weekend I stopped by to find Susie, Anna, and many family members and friends, as busy as bees as they reorganized the shop...........and met some of the new consignors who have spaces in the addition. They are bringing in fabulous furniture, lighting, china, decorative items etc. Some gorgeous treasures were asking to be taken home - can see I'll be visiting often!

The outdoor area is still being redone - but even with the hodge podge of stuff there were some interesting items visible.

Before entering SuzAnna's outdoor area, one can't help but stop to view Sam's colorful Spring garden offerings at his cute little shop, Country Porch Antiques. The flowers and plants were great - I bought petunias, potato vines, verbena, and a large, beautiful rhododendron.

Sam will offer more local vegetables and fruits as the season progresses - I bought local strawberries which are just coming in and were really sweet and good.

Next post I'll take you inside the new 'rooms' at SuzAnna's and show you some of the lovely things that caught my eye.

Back to Brixham

Today I hope you enjoy the second episode of my trip around the Devon fishing town of Brixham. It was a 'must stop' on my trip home to England last Autumn.

The harbourside buildings reflected in 'Jenny's' seafood case.

Looking across busy Brixham harbour, just visible is the full size replica of the Golden Hind Elizabethan sailing ship (left in the photo below). The original ship took Devon born sailor and adventurer, Sir Francis Drake, around the world between 1577 and 1580. He was the first British seaman to circumnavigate the globe.

While browsing around the harbour, one comes upon this statue. Prince William of Orange from Holland landed in Brixham in 1688 during the Bloodless Revolution and claimed the throne of England as William III.

Leaving the harbourside where tourist pubs such as the Sprat & Mackerel are plentiful, small alleys lead into the town and here one finds quaint local pubs with typical British names such as The Hole In The Wall.

On laundry day pegging the washing out to dry between the stone buildings adds a somewhat medieval note......................
...............and the local fish don't have far to travel from the fish market, where the daily catch is unloaded, to the restaurant's deep fryer!


More delectable offerings from 'Jenny's tiny stall.

Radiating a warmth of its own, Brixham nestles in the rugged cliffs at the southern end of the English Riviera. Here, life in Brixham centres around its pretty harbor, where you will absorb the many flavours of the town, and in the bustle of one of Britain's busiest fishing ports.

...............from The English Riviera Holiday Planner 2008...................

As he took in the view of Tor Bay whilst imprisoned aboard the ship Bellerophon, Napoleon is reported to have said........

"What a beautiful country".........he was so right!

Across the Bay

Sadly, three friends lost their fathers within the past week and although my own dad passed away in 1976, it started me thinking about him and how much I always enjoy visiting his hometown when I'm on a trip home. After 'crossing the pond' and getting settled in my hometown, Torquay, a trip across Tor Bay to the busy fishing port of Brixham where my dad grew up is always on the agenda.

This map below shows Tor Bay on the south coast of the county of Devon - the open water beyond is the English Channel looking directly toward France. When you look out from the shore you'll think you're on the Mediterranean. Sparkling blue waters warmed by the Gulf Stream, palm trees and a mild climate year round, grace a magnificent coastline.

Best way on a sunny day is to take the ferry across the bay. This is a 30 minute windy ride with scenic views of seaside communities, coves and beaches, with farmland rolling down to the red sandstone cliff edges. Below is Torquay harbour looking back toward the town's seven hills populated mostly by hotels.

Once out on the open water you will see people enjoying the Bay in yachts - sailing conditions are ideal for much of the year and many international and championship races are held here. These pictures were all taken in October of last year - a brisk wind and choppy sea, quite exhilarating.

Arriving in Brixham Harbour, small hotels, B & B's, and the homes of local fishermen climb up the hillsides.


In their prime, Brixham's fleet of fishing trawlers were admired throughout Europe. The skills of trawling were perfected at Brixham. Today some of the original impressive heritage sailing vessels have been restored and can be seen out on the Bay or moored alongside in the harbour. During WWII many trawlers were requisitioned for the evacuation of the British Forces from France, and in 1944 the harbour was used by the US Army for embarking prior to the invasion of Normandy.

Nobody visits Brixham without trying the local seafood offerings. Right on the harbour are a number of stalls selling fresh seafood such as whelks, mussels, cockles, prawns and crabs. We asked our ferry captain where we could get the best fresh crab sandwich and he steered us to 'Jenny's'......................it was certainly a great choice. Sitting at outside tables on the harbour edge, the friendly Jenny herself was feeding us in no time, serving her mouthwatering fare on pretty blue patterned china, no Styrofoam plates here - a woman after my own heart!

The whole grain bread held the freshest, sweetest crab ever, and the garnish of cucumber and fresh steamed prawns made for waterside dining at its best.

Crab pots and the bow of an old fishing boat.

Hope you enjoyed joining me on this Devonshire trip. Next post, before leaving this quaint town, I'll treat you to a few more historic facts and views around Brixham.

A Great Sentimental Idea

Theresa at Take A Sentimental Journey is busy planning a lovely Mommie Tribute to be held on her blog May 6. This is a great idea.........you can post a special treasured picture and story about your mother, grandmother, guardian etc. I have already sent off a picture of a younger, slimmer, different hair color me, along with my late dear mum, taken when she came across the pond on one of her eagerly anticipated visits to the USA some 20 years ago!

So hurry over to meet Theresa if you haven't done so yet. She has listed the details of the tribute. Her blog is quite new, she is delightful, and waiting to make new friends to share the ups and downs of life........and it seems most are ups, yippee.........via her blog.

A tribute close to Mother's Day will be really nice - hopefully many of you will participate and make Theresa's efforts worthwhile. I'll be looking for you!!

The Price of Pollen

"Rose" by Anahata Joy Katkin

Today my throat feels like this, full of bits and pieces, iron shavings, burning embers........and I definitely don't love who I am! I had no voice this morning but as it's gradually croaked back to almost normal this evening I think it was the pollen, not a cold or bug. Living in the South, the visual loveliness of Spring blossoms makes one pay the price, and the beauty is not skin deep, it creeps down your throat, up your nose and plays with your head.

The good news is that Google and Picasa have decided to allow me to continue to upload images to my blog............today my paid for in March storage appeared in my account at long last! I guess they did read my e-mails full of whines and whinges. Perhaps my words "elderly lady, non techie" etc. struck a chord within one of those smart young technical guys or gals - thanks so much!

Joys of Gardening - Tech. Problem

Rain, rain, beautiful rain...................at long last we've been getting quite a lot around here, heavy soakings of a couple of inches the past couple of days. This now means mow, rake, trim, plant, all those garden chores that just required water from the heavens in order to grow something..................and then it grows some more!

This bed with periwinkle and ivy is my first battleground as my birdbath is about to be hidden, those two vines definitely grow several inches a day! The guy at the garden center warned me many years ago, he used that dreaded word 'invasive', but of course I was stubborn and said I'd keep them in check - famous last words.

(Click on pic below to see the male Towhee visiting the angel).

Below are the implements of torture for an aging gardener such as me - rakes! Last week I injured my right shoulder rotator cuff overdoing it with these, ouch!

So, instead of working in the garden daily as is necessary this time of year, I enjoyed the last of the azalea blooms and bluebells.......................

...............and loved gazing at these new Iris I planted which, for some reason, were also loved by the squirrels who have bitten off several buds.....................pesky devils!

Stay limber all you gardeners - remember to warm up your muscles prior to digging and raking. Wouldn't you know it, adding insult to injury, here in the Southeast the dreaded mosquitoes are appearing already and at the weekend I got my first bites of the season. I'll be stocking up on cans of OFF and Benadryl sprays any day now.....................and I'll be heading for my screened gazebo every chance I get.

Hope you had a great weekend - many thanks for all the generous comments left this past week, they mean a lot to me.

A note about the technical problem I'm experiencing with Blogger - I'd really appreciate any help you might be able to give me if you have had this same problem. I cannot load anymore photos to my blog even though I purchased 10GB of extra storage ($20) in March when told I was running low - although I found this hard to believe as one is supposed to be able to upload about 4,000 images free! You may know that your images are stored by PICASA for use on your GOOGLE Blogger account. Apparently my purchased storage has never been recognized at PICASA and now they refuse to allow anymore pics on my blog - how frustrating is this!!!!!!!

I'm trying to work this out with GOOGLE but haven't been able to get far yet - will let you know the outcome - meanwhile I may not be able to post pics. Has anyone out there had this problem - please let me know, thanks so much.

Liberty For All

Took a road trip through North Carolina's countryside last Friday - talked dh into going to Liberty with me where the twice yearly Antiques Festival is held on rolling farmland just outside the quaint little town. Luckily the weather was fabulous - periods of blazing sun and then clouds which helped keep the temps. around 80. We wore hats but still ended up quite sunburned.

There were supposedly over 300 dealers from 25 states but I was not overly thrilled with the merchandise Genuine antiques and collectibles, no crafts - but mostly Americana, very few European items. I guess I had set my hopes too high and now know that the kind of things I really want to find are going to be in France at the brocantes..........................I just have to get over there with a big empty suitcase, SOON!!!

Above - some old heavy iron street signs from England.

Same dealer had a nice selection of English mixing bowls (but I already have two) and loads of wicker encased Demijohn wine bottles.

Cricket balls - nice old dish of some mystery metal.

The dealer here had some good linens and old leather beauty cases.
The table cloths were very nice and prices reasonable.

I purchased just two linen pieces - the small pillow case with nice hand cut work $8.50, and the really gorgeous hand embroidered/cut work small tray cloth from Madeira, only $5.00!

The heavy tarnished silver plated tray with nice handles and small feet, was marked $10.00, I got it for $8.00. I will use this on the front porch with white teacups and old pale green damask serviettes............don't forget, afternoon tea at 4 o'clock, I'll be looking for you.

So, other than some sheet music, this was the extent of my treasure hunting and buying at the Liberty Festival.

Below is the one that got away - lovely candelabra loaded with heavy crystals, probably from the thirties - priced at $250.00, offered at $198.00 - a pained expression crossed dh's sunburned cheeks. Thanks but no thanks, too pricey and don't have anywhere to put it anyway!

Nice little trip - pretty countryside - light traffic - day's supply of natural vitamin D.