Yesterday’s rehearsal (at least my part in it) ended around 4:00, so I hightailed it to my car and headed home. Don was not expecting me until around 7 and I walked in before 6, completely surprising him. It is always so good to be home. He was sitting with his leg elevated, which is no surprise. It’s looking so much better now and I think it will only be a few more days until he can get back to normal.
He made dinner (Thank goodness I no longer have to make dinner every night as I did during his convalescence! He’s much better at it.) and we had a nice snuggle on the sofa before I fell into bed, exhausted and exhilarated. Work is a good thing for me right now. It’s something to focus on in a place I know like the back of my hand. It doesn’t matter where it is, on Broadway or off, in a regional theater or elsewhere, a rehearsal room is a rehearsal room. I remember getting ready to work on a musical headed to Broadway several years ago. I nervously walked into the rehearsal room and immediately relaxed. It was no different than any other rehearsal room. Work is work. Labels are just that – labels.
There was a package waiting for me on the kitchen table. I asked Don if he had wondered if it was more Roseville and he responded, “I don’t even think about it.” Wise, my husband, wise.
Because it was Roseville.
This is Ixia, a lovely Roseville pattern that doesn’t crop up in auctions nearly as often as some of the other patterns. First produced in 1937, the Ixia (from the Iris family) was a symbol of happiness to Victorian gardeners. I love this particular shade of green (it also comes in yellow and pink-green) and the delicate flowers. I really love the Art Deco-style handles.
The back. One of the things I love about Roseville is that front and back are always different.
And the details are always there, as in this touch:
Do you see the way the stem on the left extends onto the handle and the center stem extends onto the base? I love that.
These are the little things that make this collector’s heart go pitter-pat.
This vase is 8 inches high. I’m not sure where I’m going to put it yet. Upstairs? Downstairs? Hmmm.
I learned a little eBay bidding lesson with this one. For some reason (though I think I now have an idea why) I was the only bidder. The opening bid price was a fair one and I pondered bidding for a couple of days before I finally pulled the trigger. I was very happy when I won because this vase had cast a little spell on me. I got ready to pay and I noticed the shipping charge listed was $50.
What????
Are you kidding me? Well, I thought, I’m going to have to eat that cost because I didn’t take the time to check out the shipping charge before I bid, which was unlike me. I knew it was an outrageous price for shipping – which might be why nobody other than myself bid. I took a deep breath and wrote to the seller, explaining that I was the winner and thrilled to be so (this vase had belonged to the seller’s great-aunt) but why was the shipping so high? I mentioned other shipping charges that I had paid in past Roseville transactions of similar size and weight and that they were at least 1/4 of what she was charging.
This is where I learned something new. She immediately and graciously wrote me back, explaining that eBay had figured out the charges, not her, and that she herself was shocked at the amount. She then went on to say that she would look into it and she did; boxing up the vase and taking it to the post office to get a better idea. Bless her heart, she came back and reposted the shipping charge, which was now $11 instead of $50. And I received it within 3 days.
Always check the shipping charge in the auction. And always ask the seller about it if you think it’s too much.
I’m taking it easy today, puttering around the house, taking care of some laundry, vacuuming, and maybe some wandering outside to see what’s happening in the garden.
Tomorrow I have to get going very early in order to get into Manhattan for a 10:00 rehearsal.
Happy Sunday,
