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The Editorial Page   A place for Editorial comment and Letters to the Editor   By Sandy Neilly Welcome to our March/April issue and welcome spring 2011.   It seems like it has taken forever to get here, but hopefully the winter season is well behind us and we can look forward to longer, warmer days to get out and about.   Like many others we've spoken with, we were fortunate enough to get away to Florida for a while in January. The weather wasn't entirely cooperative, but the bottom line was - there was no snow.   A nasty case of the flu kept Peter indoors during most of our stay in Indian Shores and also prevented the senior Neillys from joining us as they always do, so our visit was not quite as adventurous and enjoyable as it usually is.   To get our antiquing fix without having to go too far, we were able to visit the local flea markets and shops several times and actually found some interesting items. As a bonus, our Canadian dollar was just about at par with the U.S. dollar and we didn't have to do any quick calculations in our heads to figure out what we were really paying for the items we found. That was nice.   We also learned how to be creative when packing - which is something most antique hunters learn very early on in their travels - but this trip required more than our usual “skill” when we found an old airplane propeller at one of our favourite antique malls.   We were a bit concerned about fitting the propeller into the truck, but when placed diagonally in the truck bed, there was still about a quarter of an inch left to get the gate up. That was fine - until we found the two oak pressback armchairs, the old sled, the carpets, two bicycles and lots of other “finds,” some large and some small.   (I've often wondered what other residents of the condominium we stay at must think when they see us carting things up via the elevator, like old furniture, aforementioned propeller and sled . . . that one earned us a few raised eyebrows. I did think to mention to the condo staff that if they saw us leaving with pressback armchairs, we were not stealing furniture from our unit, despite how it might look.)   After eventually purchasing too many things to fit into the truck bed with the tonneau cover on, we had to make the trek across Florida to the east side and unload some of our acquisitions in Titusville, where my sister and her husband live. Fortunately, they had some spare room in their workshop, and now, of course, we have a great excuse to make another trip south to pick up our new-to-us bikes.   Quite often we're asked if we get stopped at the border with all those things we buy when returning home to Canada. In the past 30 years, that has happened only once. It's something we fear greatly, not because we have anything to hide - we declare it all - but because once unpacked, the task of re-packing is monumental, especially out in the cold.   On the one memorable occasion that we were ordered to pull over, it was explained to us, rather humorously by one officer, that although they were really good at taking everything out, they were not at all good at putting it back. That was an understatement.   Not everyone leaves the country in the winter, but they do put the quieter winter months to good use. In an email that arrived recently from one of our advertisers in Sunderland, Lianne Megarry of The Dark Horse announced her grand re-opening this month, and I really enjoyed how she ended her announcement.   “Renew - recharge - reinvent - reflect - redecorate; That's what we did over the break.” it stated.   Now, wasn't that clever?   Lianne took advantage of what is traditionally a slow time of year for most of us. Not only did her statement make me want to get right on over to her shop to see what she's done, but it also made me think we should all try to accomplish at least one of those things for ourselves.   To get started on the five Rs that Lianne mentioned, a good place to begin is with this issue of the WT. You can start circling all those places you've been meaning to visit, but just haven't gotten around to. Don't forget to look at the show/events calendar so you can plan to attend some (or all) of the great shows that are lined up for the spring - some well established, some brand new, all very promising and exciting.   Our website provides a list of shows up to a year in advance. Check it out often so you don't miss anything. And remember to check out Buzz - a quick look at what's going on in the antiques community.   Feedback is vitally important to businesses, so we encourage all of our readers to let the show promoters, shop owners and other antique and collectible related businesses, what you think. If you love a place, or love a show - tell them. Make their day. If you think you can offer some positive suggestions, do that too.   That goes for the Wayback Times as well. We would love to hear from you to learn what kind of articles you would like to see, what kind of shows you would like to attend and what kind of shops and markets are near and dear to your hearts (or not) . . . and why. What pleases you and what do you avoid? We will look forward to hearing from you by email or at the address below. Thanks for picking up this copy of the WT.     Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2011 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster