It didn't have to be new. In fact, we weren't looking for new. We wanted something pre-loved and cheap. Something most people would junk after a bathroom remodel or set on the side of the road with a "free" sign.
We got a lead on someone who had all kinds of "junk" for sale, so we pulled in through their private gate, past miniature ponies and rabbit cages and little goats. After my husband shook hands and introduced himself to Charlie, his wife Brenda came out and invited me to come into their house and sit a spell.
Their house was wonderfully rustic, the front porch adorned with old lanterns, saws, antlers and iron tools. I was immediately charmed. And Brenda was probably one of the nicest women I have met in a long time.
" I love your style," I told her, admiring her collection of stone crocks. "What a cool house!"
" It's made of old storage trailers," she said.
But you wouldn't know it by looking. It was just very rustic and open. The kitchen had an old wagon wheel hanging from the ceiling, adorned with cast iron skillets and pots. The island was an worn cabinet with an enamel top, the trash can was a 20 gallon crock with a home made pine lid, and the coat rack was a cedar limb shaved smooth by Brenda herself.
About that time my husband and Charlie came inside and iced tea was handed out with a smile. Brenda even cut into her cinnamon zucchini cake and my husband eagerly took advantage of a real cook.
Fifteen dollars was exchanged for the old bathtub and the men loaded it into our pickup.
"Oh, yeah, we were also looking for an old electric radio. Something we can hook up to our motion detector to scare the deer from our garden," we told them.
Charlie reached up in the corner of the porch, grabbed an little radio, plugged it in, tuned it, and said here ya go. It was ours for $5.
While almost to our truck, Brenda asked me to come back inside, she had a dozen fresh eggs for me! And then she handed me two quart baggies of frozen okra, already cleaned and cut. "Enough for you and the mister," she said with a smile.
These people didn't know us. We just showed up and they treated us like longtime friends! That doesn't happen very often. It was an amazing and refreshing feeling. What a great quest it had been!
Can't wait to get my bath tub set up outside. It's so remote here that I won't need walls or curtains- just a towel and the energy to run indoors in case someone shows up unexpectedly.
Thank you, Charlie and Brenda! Hope we see you again soon!
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