I've read that our sense of smell can often bring back good and bad memories and though I am certain there is truth in that, I have found that it is often "thing s " that bring good memories back to me. I was already a devoted antique shop visitor when I lost my mother but I wasn't really an avid collector until after she was gone. I was browsing an antique shop one day when a simple plate with a cheerful pattern of yellow poppies and black roses brought such a warm rush of memories, it nearly took my breath. The cost of the plate was prohibitive so I jotted down the information on the back of the plate and started a long internet search through thousands of Homer Laughlin pieces. It wasn't the plate that I wanted anyway...it was an oval bowl in that pattern....a bowl like Mom used to serve scambled eggs. We had no other pieces in that pattern and I have no idea where Mom acquired that one random bowl. Who would have guessed that just a plate, in ...