February is here and the Super Bowl is over with the winners celebrating and losers well, probably trying to understand the loss.

It’s also a time when many antique malls and stores have sales, with markdowns and discounts throughout. And with our outdoor antique market season coming, it’s time to start restocking our depleted inventory. We’re looking for items that are unique and underpriced, and that requires lots of work finding just the right pieces. Being collectors of far too many things, wer’e also looking for additions to our own collections.

One of our favorite antique malls is Fox Lake Country Antiques located in Oconomowoc, WI., and a short jaunt from home. Their mailing on a special sale had been attached to our calendar and with the Super Bowl starting so late in the afternoon we had “Time To Buy.” And while out their direction another must stop is the Antique Center at Wales, WI.

Looking at the first photo you may wonder about our purchases, so let me justify our buying habit. The window frame and coffee pot are both for our personal use. Wifey has a good collection of pots and pitchers of all ages. This one is old transfer ware in the Kenilworth pattern by H. Alcock & Co of Cobridge, England. It had a tiny chip on the spout and was priced “As Is” but as the display shelf is high up, only Wifey, You and I will know it’s not perfect. It was purchased at Wales. We also bought bronze hinges at Wales, and they are to sell. We seem to favor metal hardware and these three are very decorative and large. Made by Yale & Towne and signed on back, STANDARD Y&T. Let’s hope these find a buyer when its “Time To Sell.”

Our purchases at Fox L.C. included a rubber St. Bernard figurine, a souvenir plate from a jeweler in Ithaca, MI, an advertising pen holder marked Rexall Drug Stores, a deck of playing cards with Citgo Oil advertising, an old nut cracker with lion heads on the handles and two Masonic pins. All these will go into our stock for now as its “A Time To Hold”

Now lastly let me show you what my reason is for buying the window frame. I already had one for many years, it’s in our powder room off the master bedroom. With long winters, the room has a garden theme that includes this window and a “view” of the flowers in our gardens.

Oh, wait, “A Time To Pitch” is not in Wifey’s vocabulary, but I’ll be taking some time soon to sort through a lot of discarded electronics and other things relegated to the basement; too old to use – too new to be collectible.

For those of us who decorate with the seasons, Christmas is an especially delightful time of year. I pull out the old prints that denote winter or holiday celebrations, the charming plates with inspirational verses, candles and figurines that are appropriate. We still put up a real pine tree (just love the smell) and that has been long-gone. But it is hard for me to take all of the decorations down and even though I am longing for spring, I hold on a bit longer. But this is the weekend that things will change.

I have a gorgeous reverse-painted picture. The scene is of a church in the snow and the caption is “Christmas Eve.” I am not overly religious, but it has always made me smile and remember the church I attended when growing up and how simple it was compared to some of the large structures today. That will be replaced with a print with a spring scene with girls in a garden. It will make me happy because we still have lots of the white stuff around.

I also display the little snowmen that my husband got as a child. I put them under a dome in the bathroom with a ‘bobbing head”’ deer figurine on either. These came from my family, have Made in Germany stamped on their bottoms and are so darn cute. Those can stay for another few weeks, until we start to view robins in the backyard.

One of my favorite Christmas displays is a winter scene with a mirror for a skating pond in the center. The metal skaters and folks on sleds are also from my hubby and were set up around his train set (which we hope to get running one of these years.) My youngest granddaughter always asks “which one is my mom?” And I always respond with “the one doing the spin because your mom was always so graceful.” Now this is a bald-faced lie. Her mom spend most of her time in the warming cabin, rubbing her feet and drinking hot cocoa. But she does not need to learn the reality until mom wants to tell her.

We have a few small billboard signs around, these came from the scenes around the old train set as well. We also have a red, plastic outhouse. Funny, none of the kids ever ask what that is, probably assuming it is a little storage shed.

I have a few Thomas Kincade plates as well. They have winter scenes and a Christmas tree. I understand that you can leave these out all year but I have some Buzza mottos and verses that I prefer in spring since they are quite cheerful.

So, I guess it is time to get out the boxes, newspaper and prepare for the major transition. I smile as I put them away and recall doing this with my mom. We’d do it in February too, often leaving the tree up almost that long. My dear brother’s birthday was February 12^th, and we’d have a family party. Mom would leave the decorations up since she felt it was fitting. I wish she were here to give me a hand after all the years I assisted her. But the memories never die. Enjoy all of your holiday collectibles for as long as you can. But you’d better start shopping for the items that show that spring is on its way. Antique stores are famous for their floral pictures, garden items and bird books and figures. These will cheer you up after the doldrums of winter.

It has to be obvious to all who have read my articles on Collectors’ Quest, I love to collect and display our antiques, many times using them in odd ways to achieve a desired look or function. I also like to report on the shops we find on our hunting trips, the ones I think you might enjoy visiting. Along the way we also purchase antiques and collectibles to sell, and Wifey has quite a good business with internet sales of treasures she offers. But over the many years and many highway miles we have traveled in pursuit of the next great find, lots of odd things have come our way and wound up in our storage shed. Of the really weird collectibles, I have to admit most are my purchases.

Some of these were going to be something some day. That’s how I wind up with lots of lamp parts, metal brackets, hinges, decorative metal grates, parts from curtain rods and door handles of every known configuration. Wifey finds these things sellable, but I’m always sure I’ll be needing extra drawer pulls or lamp finials or keys to unlock an item I might own in the future.

But the big question, in the parlance of a older TV generation, “THE $64,000 Question.” “Where did that thing come from and how much do YOU pay.” Naturally it’s always my purchase and I paid too much, until it sells, when she claims that she found it for almost nothing.

So, let’s take a peek in the storage shed to see what lurks in the back corners, that no one remembers where it came from or when it was bought, and I still must have paid too much for it. If you don’t recognize this grouping, I can understand, these came from a telephone switchboard, used to pull the plug back into the board when the plug was pulled. No idea why we have them or what I could use them for, and I can’t see anyone else buying them.

This plug is cast iron, and painted bronze. The plug taper is cast, so I’m not sure it could actually plug anything.

Made by and signed Wilton, Mount Joy Pa. The aluminum donkey on a stand, remains a mystery. It’s the wrong shape for a book end, and too light for a paper weight.

The enameled #144, well, it’s not my age nor our house number, so I must ask what did we buy it for?

When did we get that? Wifey asked when I pulled out this pin back badge from the Nocturnal Adoration Society. I had to look it up on the net to prove to myself that it’s a religious group and not a night life lover’s organization.

I’m sure you can guess the origin of the green porcelain enamel handle, yes it is a stove handle and some day I’ll find a drawer to stick it on. But do you recognize the other handle? It’s solid brass. My guess is its from a large safe door. If Wifey doesn’t sell it, I’ll probably sell it for the scrap metal price.

You’ll want to blame me for most of these items, but I’m not alone in picking up junk metal with the hope I can find a use for it or Wifey can make a buck selling it. With magnet in hand, she is the first one to head to a basement at an estate sale, or climb under a table to scrounge through boxes of metal objects at a flea market.

Look for us on your hunting trips, we are easy to spot. Magnet and magnifying glass in had, we argue over each purchase, beg the seller for a better price, and leave with bags full of stuff no one else would buy.

This past weekend we set up at a flea market. It’s an indoor one, held about three times a year. We’ve gone to it for about ten years but only set up a booth twice. At the table next to us was a gent I’d never seen before (we often see the same folks at these events.) He had sort of an Indiana Jones thing going; a tan ‘pith hat’, camouflage shirt and sunglasses. Yes, he wore them all day long. He had an interesting mix of musical instruments for sale, most in need of repair, and he strummed a mandolin, until it sold, then played some type of wooden flute.

Our neighbor also had a number of books for sale, most of them newer and he had read them all. When a prospective buyer picked one up, he’d tell them all about it, and whet their appetite to read it for themselves. He also had videos, mostly the older ones, and these, too, he’d talk about when there was any interest. It was fun to listen to him, not only the music, but his stories of places he had traveled to. He had items he had recently ‘picked up in Nepal’, or found while in Africa. He would incorporate his tales into the items and many of the books were from faraway places, and of course, he’d seen them all first hand. I do not know if any of his stories were true, but the passer-bys were drawn in and listened intently. They often purchased items and I admit he was quite a salesman.

At the end of the day, he was giving the records away “two for a buck” and I strolled over. Imagine my surprise when I found one called “High Barbaree” which offered “rocking rollicking songs of the sea in Hi-Fi.” The cover art alone was worth it, showing a red scarfed scalawag, with almost a snarl on his face. He is wearing a patch on one eye, the expected gold earring, sporting a scruffy beard and leather shoulder treatment, perhaps from a satchel that is filled with gold doubloons.

It was recorded in England and the songs include Blow the Man Down, Spanish Ladies, What Shall we Do with a Drunken Sailor, The Chinese Bumboat Man, A Life on the Ocean Wave, When Johnny Comes Down to Hilo, Heart of Oak, and of course, High Barbaree!

I was especially excited because several of my grandchildren are crazy about pirates. This may be due in part to the fabulous Johnny Depp movies, but also a trip to Florida where they met up with Quartermaster Moe, who offered them many tales of the sea from years gone by.

They also appreciate old records, even though many kids their ages would only want CD’s or Blue Rays. They play records with their mom and seem to enjoy the old music, so finding one with pirate songs should be a hoot!

I have not had the chance to play it yet, but plan to do so when the family is in town. I am sure I’ll get my 50 cents worth of enjoyment. If not, I’ll try to sell it for $2.00, which would be approx. a “buck an ear” for the pirate’s cover picture. (Sorry, I should be pun-ished.”)

Today the Wii games are the rage with all generations. Enjoying this new form of “Parlor Game” with skill games that entertain and challenge.

The bowling game is our family favorite, especially among the younger set with the undisputed

champ, our 7 year old granddaughter, who has practiced and played to perfection, beating friends and family of the middle generations that are more fit.

I’m not sure of the future collectibility of these electronic video games although I’ve heard Pong is now collectible. But there are plenty of collectors of old board games, me included. We seem to pick them up at garage sales and flea markets and they wind up in the guest room closet. The classic board games, Scrabble, Monopoly, Parcheesi and Chutes and Ladders for the youngest members continue to entertain.

Collectors search for the oldest examples of these and other classic games. Others purchase board games for the graphics on the box or on the board itself – framing them and hanging on entertainment or media room walls. Among some collectors the miniature game pieces are the prizes, with the Monopoly die cast figures most beloved.

Now parlor games are not all winners; each year brings new games, mostly variations of the classics but reinvented with catchy names or tie-ins to movies, TV shows or comics. Others are created with great hope of being the next answer to Monopoly, with very limited distribution and poor acceptance. I also remember movie tie-ins that had so much set-up time for a completed game board that the play was anti-climatic. But as a collector, one of these games found complete would be a real prize. Or a game like this Alli-Oop which was so simple to play with, similar to Tiddly Winks but with almost impossible results.

Ah, but these odd and poorly distributed and most likely “never played” games are the treasure we collectors secretly search for.