Bright Lights, Big Lamps

A friend invited her Royal Highness and myself to the Marin County fair to watch the Fireworks. We spent a lazy morning at home, and then a wonderful afternoon with good people and good food, and then wandered over to the fair about an hour before the sun began to set. It was fun.

It's funny, trying to look back on where I've been for the fourth for the last few years. Last year, I thought it would be a really great idea to climb up on the roof of my building. From the roof, I have a perfect view of Golden Gate Bridge. We could see fireworks displays from three different directions. It should have been fantastic, but what I didn't take into consideration was the completely unreasonable fear of heights I suddenly developed. Silly me



I tried taking pictures of the fire flowers in the sky, but I didn't have my tripod, so these are the best I could do. It was funny, the way the Fair reminded me of The moon Festival I went to in Kyoto, last year

I took this shot of one of the rides from the Marin County Fair, July 2008

This is a picture I took at the Moon Festival at Daikaku-Ji temple in Kyoto, September 2007.

Maybe it says something kind of wonderful about the ability of people to come together and celebrate, wherever we are, and with whatever we have.


On Sunday, I went back to the Alameda Antiques Fair. I think I might be addicted. I looked in vain for the strange Harlequin lamp I didn't buy last time, but he was gone.

Alas.

Instead, I found this:
I don't know why, but that made me smile. It's so much fun, to watch the people that come to the Antiques Fair. Almost as much fun as watching the things that are there.

"You know why women come together..." I hear two women talking as they pass me, "it's because women get it... that this is part of the adventure. We enjoy the process of looking through and finding treasures..."

And it's true, that there are a lot of women who come here with their friends. But there are people of every age and type here. Women and men, alone or in groups, Hippies and Goths, snobs and students, young and old, couples and friends, people that are just as happy to BE there as I am, and people that are quietly but constantly bickering with each other.

Although I never find my Harlequin, my eyes are caught by this silver bamboo style floor lamp. I go over to ask the woman at the booth if she can tell me any more about the lamp. And what she tells me is that is was acquired at an Estate sale, and that the woman that owned it before, collected Asian antiques, and that there is a second lamp, and because I am standing there looking undecided, she makes me an offer. Both lamps for $40. And so home with me they come.

This is not an impressive picture, I admit, but they will look wonderful when they finally find their place in my living room. And they remind me of these lamps by William Sonoma, that are also kind of nice:

Image via Williams-Sonoma.

The moment I pick the lamps up and begin to walk away with them, people watch them go. It's another part of the fun of going to the Antiques fair... Looking for bargains, and looking to see what other people get for bargains. As I am walking towards the front gate, I hear a man point me out to his wife and nod his head. "There go your lamps," he tells her. I smile, but walk a little faster. I have three different groups of people shout out to me, on my way to the parking lot. What great lamps! those are beautiful! And I nod, because they are.