Antiques Roadshow in Salem, Va.

This weekend, several antiques dealers, including my mom and myself will be participating in an Open House at the Salem Antique Market, located at 2700 West Main Street, Salem, Va. 24153. The phone number for the store is 540-389-6559.

The shop will be open from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., as it is during every weekday. Sunday hours for the store are from 11 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Among the featured items will be: Vintage comic books (the top image is very first issue of "Richie Rich," we don't have it, but there are plenty more), antique postcards (the middle image is of a postcard from Richmond, Va.), cups and saucers, paintings (prints), and old typewriters (we don't have any, but our neighboring booths in the shop do).

https://www.facebook.com/SalemAntiqueMarket

http://www.visitroanokeva.com/visitors/region/cityofsalem/

Mom is Having a Major Downsizing Sale

For those of you who watch "Antiques Roadshow" and live in or near Roanoke, Va., my mother, a veteran antiques dealer who also sells items at Duke's Antique Mall in Lexington, Va., is having a major downsizing estate sale in Salem, Va., which is next to Roanoke.

The correct times for the event are as follows: Fri., Nov. 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sat., Nov. 3 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sun., Nov. 4 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The estate sale will take place at 2265 Mt. Regis Drive Salem, Va. 24153 http://www.mapquest.com

Among the antiques collector items available at the downsizing sale are: Guns, gun cabinet, Christmas outdoor displays, two wicker chairs, sofa marble top table, Elizabeth Arden pottery (North Carolina), chicken on nest collection, Barbie dolls, baskets, glassware (crystal), clocks and lamps. Plenty of items are for sale at reasonable prices.

Entry numbers will be handed out at 6:30 a.m. on Friday. For further information, feel free to call me on my cell phone at (540) 293-9284.

http://www.visitsalemva.com

http://www.pbs.org/roadshow/

http://www.blueridgepbs.org

http://www.lexingtonvirginia.com

Extra Bonus Photo to Fill Space- An Oil Lamp

Since we had two images of lamps, we thought it would be kind of neat to conclude the set with an oil lamp; we gather these are quite expensive.

Next week, there are two episodes of "Antiques Roadshow," on PBS (usually on Mondays), including one show from Phoenix, Arizona, where a collection of original art work from "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schultz, worth $350,000, will be featured.

"The Charlie Brown Christmas Special," which Schultz wrote himself, originally aired on Dec. 9, 1965.

Casualties of Modern Technology (1 of 12)- Swiss Cuckoo Clocks

Well, the Swiss cuckoo clock may not quite be an endangered species as one can find one on a retail site like e-bay for $200 or in a neighborhood antique store for a slightly higher or lower price.

But, in today's world, even the more modern and conventional wristwatch is becoming obsolete as every personal computer, laptop and cellphone tells each of us what time it is, irregardless if one is in Lagos, Nigeria, or Louisville, Ky.

According to Wikipedia, the cuckoo clock is pendulum-regulated, so that a mechanical cuckoo comes out at the top of each designated hour.

The cuckoo clock was first developed in the Black Forest region of Germany in 1629 by Philipp Hainhofer. The chalet/Swiss-style cuckoo clock emerged in the late 1800s. Cuckoo clocks also figure prominently in pop culture. Two examples in film include the classic thriller "The Third Man" (1949) with Orson Welles and the sci-fi cult classic "Blade Runner" (1982) with Harrison Ford. There is also a Cuckoo Clock Museum in Cheshire, England.

Cuckoo clocks, as well as other antique clocks, such as the grandfather clock, frequently comes up for discussion in the PBS show "Antiques Roadshow," which airs in most markets at 8:00 p.m. on Mondays. The episode for this coming week's show was recorded in Raleigh, NC, which is (almost) here in our backyard.

Announcing a Very Big Sale

My mom is having a HUGE moving sale at her former residence, located at 456 Ingal Blvd., Salem, Va. 24153 (we are using the zip code in case you want to Mapquest it; I think Bethesda, Maryland, is about five hours away as is Fayetville, NC---we really want people to come out in droves for this thing, seriously!).

Among the low-end items for sale are a pennant with King Kong hovering over the World Trade Center, a Captain Tennile vinyl record with their hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (it didn't belong to me) and a children's wind-up toy of a monkey playing a drum that might actually be older than I am.

The high-end items include an exotic Indonesian puppet, several antique lamps (we think), depression glass (hmmm....I should have asked mom to confirm all this), a nice couch and a huge big-screen tv.

There will also be lots of tools, but I'm not sure if those should be classified as high-end or low-end items. And, there is a cute, antique "Pinocchio" children's book as well as some novels which I actually found time to read, like "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis.

Should you reside in Provo, Utah, which is 30 hours and 21 minutes from Salem, Va. (we did confirm this!), you can always fly. I think Delta Airlines would have the best route.

But, we know you will probably settle for watching "Antiques Roadshow." The episode which is reportedly airing in most markets tonight was taped in Billings, Montana. Assuredly, that town is even farther away from Salem than the folks in 84601 (zip code for Provo, Utah).

For more information, you can go rickandvick.com which will hopefully have an update on the Big Sale during the week.

My mom also sells antiques and collectibles at Duke's Antiques Mall in historic Lexington, Va.

I guess now mom will have to take me out to eat at Applebee's for doing all this!


PS: We forgot to mention that the times for the Big Huge Sale are Friday from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Things We Learned from Twitter Last Night- Israel is the Best Place to Get a Kidney

Those of you not hip to this blog may be confused by my twisted sense of humor, but while Tel Aviv may not be the best place to find that antique pipe organ you saw on the Kansas City episode of "Antiques Roadshow" (which airs on PBS here in the USA), it is apparently the best place for organ donations in the world according to an article in "The Jerusalem Post."

Through a tweet from the newspaper, I learned late last night that Israel is first in soliciting organ donations according to the article by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich.

The nation's Donor Action Foundation, founded in 1998, has been an international leader with 600 successful identifications of potential organ donors last year.

Israel is also a leader in preserving donated organs according to the article.

SIDEBAR_ If one wants to find an antique organ, one good place might be The Strasburg Emporium in Strasburg, Va. While visiting the town for the first time in years this week, I also discovered Cristina's Cafe which will be celebrating its second anniversary on Saturday.

SIDEBAR TWO_ If you are not a recipient of a liver transplant and you can pretty much eat whatever you want (a habit I am trying to break though I'm not carrying a dead teenage girl's organs), then you may want to try one of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries establishments in Greensboro, NC.

My friend Brian Clarey, the editor and food critic of "Yes Weekly!" in Greensboro recently reported that the diner at Friendly Center, one of three Five Guys places in the Triad (a national chain with 550 locations, including one in my hometown of Salem, Va., that started in the Washington DC-area a mere eight years ago) serves up a delicious burger as well as scrumptious French fries made from potatoes from a farm in Rigby, Idaho.

We presume that Brian has not had a recent organ transplant either, but if we has we will apologize for the oversight in advance!

Silly Photo to Fill Space-Antique Teddy Bears

Since it is a nice day outside here in North Carolina (Oh, wait a minute-I'm actually in Virginia. Living and working along the state line can play with one's mind!), it would have been nice to head far, far west to the mountain hamlet of Floyd, Va., home of the world-famous Floyd Country Store, and go trolling for top hats at Chic's Antiques on 125 West Main Street (Phone: 540-745-4627. Ok, so my mom has friends who work there, this isn't exactly "The Wall Street Journal.")


I'm not sure how much top hats go for, but I'm guessing they are around $85. And, antique teddy bears, such as the ones pictured, would probably go for slightly more. But, then again, I don't work for "Antiques Roadshow!"