I purchased this painting several months ago at a small, dusty antique store north of Denver. I paid less than $100 mostly because the owner thought that it was a print. I knew from the crackles that it was an original and frankly, the frame should be worth more than the price that I paid.

I was convinced that I had found my very own Antiques Roadshow Success Story. Chills of elation ran down my arms as I signed the check to make the purchase.

I snapped a few photos of the painting as soon as I got home and sent them to a local auction house for an appraisal. While I waited for the response over the course of several weeks, I began to dream big. A New Kitchen, that's what I would get with all of the money that I would make. Imagine. An oven that doesn't burn my cookies. A stove that has some gusto. Counter tops that don't scrap the skin off our forearms when we brush against it.

Sadly, the auction house sent me an email informing me that the item didn't meet the minimum value of $500 for them to provide the appraisal.

Rats.

I suppose I should have been looking at antique firearms or funky tribal hats. You know, the items that bring in the Big Bucks Deluxe on the show.

So the painting is now hanging in the living room in a fairly benign locale. No big light illuminating it. No big story about my shopping finesse.

Just a nice, little oil painting. No big deal.