THE Blue Duck!

And here s/he is!!!!!

In my first post I told you that I had seen the ceramic duck in an antique/collectibles shop.  What I didn't say is that the shop is an hour's drive from home.  I regretted not buying the duck when I saw it, and a couple of days later called every shop I thought I'd been to asking if they had it in their stock.  NO LUCK!!  And then I got that pesky bronchitis so a trip to check for myself was out of the question for about three weeks.

Several days ago, however, I awoke feeling fine and the weather cooperated to give me a lovely country drive over to Arcadia, Florida, home to quite a few antique and collectibles shops.  Actually, the entire old downtown is a haven for those who like to poke around looking at ceramics, coins, old tools, vintage clothing and costume jewelry, and so much more.  I began to retrace the steps I thought I'd taken, looking in each shop for the blue duck.  NO LUCK.... ;-(  Several shop owners remembered that I had called (and I think they thought I am a little crazy to be so obsessive about this duck, but we'll let that pass...) but none had seen a blue ceramic duck.  Hmmmm.... one more shop..... and I turned a corner past a display of truly wonderful old ladies' hankies (all tatted, and lacy of course) and  finally, before my eyes, the object of my search!

Now, this duck is from an outfit in Canada called Blue Mountain Pottery.  You can read about it HERE.

I remembered when I saw it that the price was pretty steep, so maybe that's why I didn't buy it to begin with.  In true shopper fashion I asked if the stated price was the "best they could do" and the fellow gave me a little discount - Hooray!!!

So now you know.  I put 157 miles on the car (doing some additional sightseeing while in the vicinity of Arcadia) getting this silly duck!  But isn't she beautiful?  And is it a 'she'? No name springs to mind....... Will keep you posted ;-)

If you're ever in SW Florida between Sarasota and Lake Placid, do stop in Arcadia.  It's the closest thing to Old Florida that is still in existence.  Sure there's some newer business on the east side of town, and I saw a couple of chain restaurants, but over all, it's a sleepy haven.  The citrus industry was big here once and indeed, I saw a couple of small orange groves.  There's a gorgeous old courthouse and in one part of town are beautiful restored Florida Cracker-style homes and even a painted lady or two.  Definitely worth a look.......

And how about you?  Have you had any Blue Duck Days lately?