I’ve been going to auctions with my parents and Grandma for as long as I can remember. The smell of an old fairground building and a cold, metal folding chair bring me back to my childhood every time I encounter one. Looking through all the tables of old items was an endless adventure and learning how to sit still in a chair without raising my hands suddenly was probably a great skill to learn at a young age 
My Grandma’s house is full of antiques and she loved to collect items from an early age. Her parents and grandparents came to the US from Holland with a few material possessions so the history and story behind items was very special to my Grandma. She was given items to keep in her hope chest as a young lady and she never stopped collecting.
Estate auctions and antique stores were a couple of the ways my Grandma collected her prize possessions. When I was over the other day giving her some beets from my garden she got very excited when I told her of the treasures I got at an auction last weekend. She is almost 90 and her eyesight is not the best so she can no longer enjoy going to auctions. But she does get a kick out of me taking after her in that way. But the main difference between my Grandma and I? I like to get items that I can use, not just pretty items to collect. At least that’s what I tell my husband, but I do have a few collections that are just for looks: orange carnival glass and silver on crystal come to mind.
The auction I went to over the weekend was an estate sale of a family who has lived in Livingston, MT for 150+ years. There were many beautiful pieces of history that were in great condition. I bid on a lot of items but since my Mom said I can’t store anything else at her house (I’m still living in an apartment until my husband & I get our dream farmhouse) I didn’t go too crazy. I picked up some cute colored plates, two sauerkraut slicers, a 3 gal crock, a few cast iron pans that need some work, a skinny wood door, and 10 boxes of glass jars/bottles. The last item made me smile for a couple days straight! It was like Christmas when I unwrapped all of them. Most exciting for me was the Kerr jars from 1915; there are enough of them that they will be perfect for storing dry goods in my future pantry.
My Dad also got some beautiful items for my Mom! A crock bowl that is extremely light so it’s probably 100 years older than the other ones she’s collected, a nesting bowl set that came to Montana in a covered wagon and was in The River Runs Through It, and some crock handles to replace lost handles on their crocks. I’m glad my Dad went during the day when I couldn’t be there as he was there when they auctioned off the crock I wanted 
Over the winter I’m going to have to organize all of my collections. I have boxes and boxes of items that I’ve gotten at auctions over the years. It’s time for me to clear out some items that don’t interest me anymore and get a better inventory of all that I have. That should be a fun wintertime project!
Do you collect anything?
Fun stuff, that’s great you were over at grandma’s to give her some goodies from your garden
Too bad she can’t go to auctions and antique-ing anymore, although who knows where she would keep any more of these things!
p.s.- …TEN boxes of glass jars and bottles?!
I already recycled one large box of glass bottles/jars that I’ve been using… next up I’ll have to freecycle all the ones I can’t bear to recycle but don’t want to hang on to.