My husband and I love going to the salvage and vintage places on the weekends. He is freakishly knowledgeable about vintage Christmas lights and their corresponding electrical strands. He can tell you what era a bulb is from just by observing its qualities. He’s also very nostalgic for mid-century Christmas ornaments. Visit his YouTube channel for his whimsical takes on his hobby.
I collect vintage Tupperware and kitchen glass, mainly Corning ware and Pyrex. Lately though, I’ve been looking for records and art and something for the walls at home that really speaks to me.
Yesterday we were at Midland Salvage and Antiques in downtown Indy. It was my first time there and I was as lost as I could get. It’s an old factory converted to a salvage shop. It’s big, old, and strangely laid out on two floors.
I could hear Matt & our daughter in the distance, so I slowly started meandering in their general direction while I continued to peruse the items on display in one booth.
I looked to my left, and found myself face to face with this door. Right next to it was its partner. These were the shower doors from my grandparent’s house. In Miami. I mean, not these specifically – it’s just that I never expected to see these doors anywhere ever except for my grandparent’s house. Certainly not in Indianapolis.
Say what you will about how ugly the tracks these had to be mounted on were, but I could fill up the tub and flop around like Shamu and every drop was contained to the tub. Sometimes when I was bored and just having a soak, I would trace the image with a bar of soap then lather it all up and hose it off with the shower. I was 7… what else was I going to do?
Oh right…since the Swans were hung so that they faced each other, I used to slide one door back and forth real fast to make them “dance” or “kiss”. Sometimes I’d lose my grip on the door and it would slam into the wall. This would irritate my grandmother who would then come yell at me about breaking the door. Not once in all my years did they break.
My grandparents bought the house in 1970, previously owned by my grandfather’s sister. I have no doubt she had them installed. She was a woman of high taste and in the 60s, these would have been considered fancy.
I remember how big that bathroom used to feel to me as a kid and how small it actually was the last time I stepped foot in it in 2010 when my grandparents died. The shower doors were still there.
I wish I had a house of my own…or even a place to put them. I’d go back and get them in a heartbeat.