Auction Girl Vintage

My Husband Rocks! Stonehenge

.
rock (verb) ... you rock, I rock,
he rocks, she rocks, they rock ...
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we rock together!

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my husband rocks ... it's genetic.  Ray's mom and dad were both geologists:  they met in the geology lab at the University of Texas when my mother-in-law was 18 and my father-in-law was 25.  My FIL -- Rex -- was an oil and mineral geologist with Exxon, and he spent many long months on the Alaskan North Slope, waiting to discover oil at Prudhoe Bay.  My MIL -- Nez -- has had several careers, including geologist, psychologist/marriage & family counselor, teacher, Church lay leader, scout organizer, and dozens of other volunteer positions.  Before, during, and after their careers -- at home together or thousands of miles apart -- they have been 100% devoted to one another.  Rex has been retired for nearly 30 years now, and he and Nez are both still talking about rocks :o)

 

here's a little secret ... Santa Claus is a geologist, too.  Santa loves rocks almost as much as Ray and Rex and Nez.  Santa loves them so much that he always put a couple of nice shiny polished ones in the bottom of Ray and his sister's Christmas stockings each year, a tradition that we carried on with on own children for many years.  Rex supplied the rocks for our kids' stockings out of his seemingly endless supply of fancy agates, geodes, arrowheads, and crystals.

 

my inlaws rock ... they celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this summer, and they're as smitten with one another now as they were when they met.  We've learned so much from them, and they're wonderfully inspirational role models for us in our lives and our marriage.  They raised their children with strong values and beliefs, old-fashioned Southern manners, respect for others and for the environment, inquisitive minds, a love of learning, a strong work ethic, and a desire to see the world. 

 

we visited Stonehenge  in November 2005, and were awed ... not so much by the size of the rocks (which are huge), but by their age and the fact that they're there, such a very long way from where they originated.

 

I have a feeling Ray is trying to sell these rocks to the kind person who took our picture

 

it's a very spiritual place, and it was humbling to stand in a spot where hundreds or thousands of people once lived, loved, hunted, raised children, and worshipped, more than 5000 years ago.  Archaeologists and scientists have shown that the rocks have been in place since circa 3500 years BC, and they believe the site itself was in use 8000 years before Jesus was born.

 

 

 

A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

 

 

I do not know how the third world war will be fought,
but I can tell you what they will use in the fourth ... rocks.

~ Albert Einstein

 

EDITED 11-01-08, 7:10 p.m. -- God works in mysterious ways.  I wrote and posted the original message (above) yesterday, Friday morning, shortly before 9 a.m.  Ray talked to his mom around 7 p.m., to say Happy Halloween.  She called back about an hour later to tell us Rex went to bed right after dinner, and passed away a few minutes later.  He lived a long and wonderful life, and died at home surrounded by loved ones.  Ray and I drove to Los Angeles this morning, to say goodbye to Rex, then spent the day with Ray's mother and his oldest sister.  The world is a better place because of the many things Rex did during his lifetime, and the many lives he touched.  I am blessed to have known him for the past 27 years, and to have been a part of his family and his life.

 

 

 

my husband rocks!

is hosted every Friday by KatyLin at
The Great Adventure

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ Week 1

 

 

 

 

For Monday, 27 October 2008

 

Outside My Window ... the street is Monday Morning Quiet, though it's almost noon.  Perhaps it's a gardener's holiday :o)

 

I am thinking ... about taking a nap.

 

I am thankful for ... our new waterheater ~ 39 hours without hot water was long enough.

 

From the kitchen ... I had a leisurely breakfast:  leftover homemade macaroni & cheese that Ray made after my doctor's appt. on Friday, plus some thinly sliced grilled chicken and some of Ray's Rosemary, Cheese, & Garlic croutons, both of which were left from Sunday night's fixings for a Chicken Caesar Salad.  There are so many delicious leftovers today that it's hard to make a choice.

 

I am wearing ... my favorite pink Birkies

 

I am creating ... a list of antiques shows, crafts fairs, and thrift stores for our December trip to Vancouver, BC

 

I am going ... to be busy this week

 

I am hoping ...to get caught up on paperwork this afternooon

 

I am hearing ... only the sound of myself typing.  Quiet mornings are why I love Mondays at home.

 

Around the house ... killer dust bunnies are coming out of summer hiding

 

I am reading ... My Honeymoon With My Brother, for the 2nd time -- I love travel books that tell a story

 

One of my favorite things ... opening boxes from previous thrift store trips & garage sales.  They pile up over the summer months, and by the time I open them each one is a delightful surprise.

 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:  get the rest of the boxes out of my car, before they grow permanent roots ... shred all of last week's junk mail ... take a family day trip to visit my inlaws in Los Angeles (he's 94, she's 87, and they're both fabulous) ... get all of my eBay orders shipped, and list at least 25 new auctions ... scan the letters I found last week -- written to my father by his father in 1921 -- and email them to my sister

 

 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...

 

 

 

The Simple Woman's Daybook is hosted each Monday by
Peggy at http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/ 

 

Click here to see a list of links to this week's Daybook participants

 

The Nearest Book = Lemon Frosting

I came across this fun and fast challenge at Gayle's Sparkle Jars blog just a few minutes ago, and -- since my desk is piled high with books -- dove right in.  There's something charming and seductive  about randomness, so I couldn't pass this one up.

The Nearest Book Challenge:

* Grab the nearest book.

* Open the book to page 56.

* Find the fifth sentence.

* Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.

Reminder:  Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one:  grab the CLOSEST BOOK and GO!

 

 

LEMON FROSTING -- Easy to Make, Wonderful Topping
Blend 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar into 1/4 cup Fluffo aternately with 1/4 cup lemon joice and 1 tablespoon cream.  Beat until smooth.  Add 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.

 

from CREATIVE COOKING MADE EASY: The Golden Fluffo Cookbook (copyright 1956, The Proctor & Gamble Company).  Note:  Fluffo was a brand of yellow-colored shortening.

Fall Photos, Old & New

We don't get a lot of Autumn here in Bakersfield.  At 7:30 on a sunny Saturday morning, it's 62 degrees outside, with a predicted high of 86.  The leaves on our trees are stubbornly green, and will stay that way for another month or longer.

If we want to see fall colors, we have to search them out.  And since travel is one of my favorite things, I have some fabulous fall pics to share from previous journies.

This one is me, at Avila Barn in San Luis Obispo, CA.  You can tell it's an old picture ... I'm young, I'm thin, I have a tan, and I have shoulder length red hair.  It's been at least 6 or 8 years since any of those terms described me.

 

In 2002, I spoke at a literacy conference in Trumbull County, Ohio, and I stayed in a lovely country inn in Amish country.  The scenery was stunning everywhere I looked, but all of the local people kept telling me I had missed the best leaves and colors.

This tree is in front of my hotel, the Red Maple Inn, in Burton, OH.  It's located in Geauga County, the fourth largest Amish community in the world.

My friend Cheryl was kind enough to drive me around to see the sites and to visit the villages and small towns, including Middlefield and Mesopotamia.  The Amish farmland was beautiful and I was suprised to see that many of the fenceposts along the pastures were topped with pumpkins.  

More surprising, still, was the fact that many non-Amish families still had their carved Jack O' Lanterns on their front porches, nearly a month after Halloween.  Cheryl explained to me that the cold autumn air kept them fresh, and that most homes kept them on display until they froze.  Here in my warm part of California, Jack O' Lanterns begin to mold within 2 to 3 days of being carved, so they have to be thrown out right away. 

 

This is the End Of The Commons General Store, in Mesopotamia, OH, established in 1840.  It serves the local Amish community, as well as the non-Amish and many tourists.  I bought a lot of local goodies here.

 

This is the back lawn at the hotel, and the buildings are an Amish home.  My view faced east, and the sunrises were spectacular through the morning mist.  This is the view from my balcony.

  

 

Right next door to the hotel is the Century Village Museum, one of those parks filled with historic buildings and artifacts.  The cabin, below, was inside the park, right over the fence from the "front yard" of the hotel.

 

   

Pink Saturday ~ Cath Kidston Pillows

 

Autumn is here, winter is coming, and pink is as popular as ever.  Here are a few of my favorite Cath Kidston pillows, made from her signature fabrics.  I'm especially fond of the circus one:

 

For a full list of this week's Pink Saturday participants, please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

Photos are courtesy of cathkidston.co.uk, where the pillows and matching fabrics are available for purchase.

 

My Husband Rocks! Double Bubble Bonus Points

my husband rocks!

 

This is the first of my Friday posts about Mr. Vintage, the man who has kept me warm, kept me laughing, kept me happy, and kept me fed for the past 27 years.

I haven't actually asked him how he feels about being called Mr. Vintage, but I have a feeling he might think the word "vintage," when applied to people, isn't a 100% positive thing.  For that reason, at least on Fridays, we'll call him Ray.

 

This Friday -- today -- Ray is taking the day off, so we can spend the whole day together.  Whatta guy, huh?  While some of you early-bird-worm-catching types are reading this in your jammies on Friday morning, Ray will be doing the Supportive-Husband-Boogie at the gastroenterologist's office.  And while Ray boogies, I'll be singing the Strangers-Are-Probing-My-Bare-Butt Blues.

We met the doctor last week, when he explained the ins and outs [pun intended] of a routine colonoscopy.  I didn't have many questions at the time, but I've been compiling a list over the past few days, and am looking forward to getting some much-needed answers.  To wit:

How come I'm required to have a responsible adult stay with me for the next 24 hours, and where will I find one?  Why am I not allowed to operate machinery until Saturday morning?  Would I really pose a danger to myself and others by playing solitaire on my cell phone, answering email on my laptop, or listening to Bob Seger on my ipod?   How will I change the television channel or start a DVD?  What about mechanical pencils ... is it safe to do Sudoku?  And how come, if machinery is off-limits, President Bush went on a bike ride a few short hours after his last colonoscopy?  Are Republican butts built tougher, like Ram Trucks?

   

Questions like these are why patients are sedated for this test.

 

 

I've been having other thoughts as well, including getting an EXIT ONLY sign tattooed on my butt, but I don't think it would help. 

In a dream last night, I imagined looking over my shoulder at the doctor and saying:  "This isn't at all like Raquel Welch in "Fantastic Voyage." 

Or is it?  I found this quote in an old review of the film:  The acting is often unconvincing, and Raquel Welch is especially stiff.

Stiff?  That ain't gonna work ... this role calls for flexibility and small, highly-skilled, hands.  Will somebody please send Raquel back home?

 

 

I'm writing this post early (it's 4 p.m. Thursday), because I won't be home to write it on Friday morning.  Today is my "prep" day, when I get to swallow all kinds of pills and potions while enjoying a delightful diet of clear liquids.  I've even had 2 bowls of orange jello, to pretend I was actually chewing.  By the time Ray gets home from work Thusday evening, my insides should be clean as a whistle.

I've consumed an 18 day supply of laxatives in less than 12 hours, but I guess that's not quite enough.  The gastro doc -- no doubt tired of the "it's a poopy job, but someone has to do it" jokes -- is taking no chances.  He says I have to wake up at 4 a.m. for not one, but two, Fleet enemas.  I've thought long and hard about this, and I have concluded that only a contortionist could self-administer that medication.  Enemas are not a one-person act.

And THAT, dear friends, is why Ray's getting Double Bubble Bonus Points today:  for getting up in the middle of the night to express his everlasting devotion in new and mysterious ways.  Heck, he even volunteered, and he has repeatedly assured me he's happy to share in this new experience, one he knows will bring us closer together than ever before.  That's true love, at its finest.  

I'll say it again ... My Husband Rocks!  Thank God I married Ray The Pharmacist and not Joe The Plumber. 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

UPDATE, filed under "you've got to be kidding" .... "God really does have a sense of humor" ... and "it could only happen to me."

 

I shouldn't have made that quip about Joe the Plumber ... Less than an hour after I finished typing the top parts of this post, my 19 year old son wandered by, asking his older brother if he took a shower this morning.  Older brother said no, younger brother said he was wondering why there was no hot water at 6 a.m. on a Thursday morning, both boys walked out to the garage, and came right back in to tell me the water heater is broken.  Aaack!  Please don't tell me I have to take a COLD shower before leaving for the doctor's on Friday morning.

Update, part 2 ... Ray got home from work and all 3 guys decided the water heater's history.  It's too late to buy a new one tonight, so Ray and the boys will do it on Friday, after my test.  Lowe's wants over $350 to install a new one, plus an extra $75 for priority installation.  No way.  We'll install it ourselves. 

As for taking a cold shower ... thank goodness it's still warm in Bakersfield. 

 

 

 

my husband rocks!

is hosted every Friday by KatyLin at
The Great Adventure

 

 

Tagged ~ I Love Your Blog Award

Lookie here, I've been tagged!  Kim at Kim's Cottage sent me this cutie pie award, and now it's my turn to spread some linkie love and pass it on to others :o)

The rules that go along with the award are to answer the following questions with one word answers ... then pass it on to 7 other bloggers.

Oh dear ... I did all the work and the only part of the instructions that my brain actually processed was the part that said "7 other bloggers."  Dang!  I just now found the phrase "one word answers" and, um, it's too late to change them (actually, it's 4:15 am and my insomnia's wearing off for the evening).  So, if you're a purist about this sort of thing, feel free to mentally-insert-a-bunch-of-hyphens-between-the-multiple-words-and-make-it-all onebigword ... if, of course, that makes you feel better :o)

As always, I write in the spirit of Mark Twain, who said something along the lines of: "I would have written a shorter story, but I didn't have the time."

1. Where is your cell phone?  Next to the bed, I use it as my alarm clock
2. Where is your significant other?  Asleep, but he left my light on ;-)
3. Your hair color?  um ... black?  dark brown?  It was Hussy Red until a couple months ago, and now it's a dark vampish brown ... though it might actually be that crappy-gray looking color that keeps growing out at the roots the moment I look the other way
4. Your mother? One of those crazy ladies with a houseful of cats
5. Your father? Elusive, but definitely no longer with us
6. Your favorite thing? Home, family, travel
7. Your dream last night? Dunno
8. Your dream/goal?  World peace, global education & literacy, universal health care
9. The room you're in? Living room
10. Your hobby? Travel, cooking, thrifting, reading, photography
11. Your fear? Reinstatement of the draft/losing my sons in an unjust war
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Puttering in my garden
13. Where were you last night? Last night as in "before midnight" or last night as in Monday night?
14. What you're not? Transparent, in any sense of the word
15. One of your wish list items? An old-fashioned wife to do all the chores
16. Where you grew up? S.F. Bay Area
17. The last thing you did? Answered #s 1 to 16
18. What are you wearing? Rhinestone-studded tank top
19. Your tv? I need assistance to do more than change the channel
20. Your pet? Peeve
21. Your computer? Overworked
22. Your mood? Contented
23. Missing someone? My grandmother who raised me 
24. Your car? Still filled with boxes from my August trip to the Pacific NW
25. Something you're not wearing? Bra (well, you asked ...)
26. Favorite store? Ranch 99 Market ... it's like a fieldtrip to Asia
27. Your summer? Hot 
28. Love someone?  Eternally
29. Your favorite color? Blue&White
30. When was the last time you laughed? During dinner
31. Last time you cried? When I realized I had to send this to 7 {holy moly, seven?!?} people

These are the Lucky 7 I'm passing this award on to ... sooner or later, I'm sure they'll forgive me :o) 

~ Becky at Sweet Cottage Dreams, who has the perfect mate for Lulu, My Chalkware Dog

~ Sarah at A Beach Cottage, because she was the first person to post a comment on my blog (I still don't know how she found me just a few hours after my very first post) ... everything on her blog is gorgeous

 

~ Joanna at Sweet Finds, who stops by often and leaves the sweetest comments

 

~ Cindy at My Romantic Home, who loves blue & white, has recipes that rock, and collects many of the same things I do

 

~ Colleen at Main Street Memories, because her writing makes me laugh and warms my heart

 

~ KatyLin at The Great Adventure, who hosts My Husband Rocks each Friday

 

~ Idyllic Dreams, who is working hard to get her weekly Carnival Of Thrift Store Addicts off the ground

 

 

Thanks again for thinking of me, Kim!

Finger Lickin' Good ~ Red Lobster Inspired Cheddar Biscuits

Do these look scrumptious or what?  I made these yummy biscuits for the first time late this afternoon, and they were a huge hit with my college-aged sons.  I decided to make a double batch, to be certain there'd be some for Mr. Vintage when he got home from work this evening, since he's on call and had to work late. 

Thanks to Cindy at My Romantic Home for posting this recipe last month.  I discovered the recipe a couple nights ago and couldn't wait to make these, and my mouth watered all day today in anticipation.  I made a couple minor changes to reduce the fat and calories a bit, by substituting 2% milk for the whole milk, and using a combination of 1/2 butter and 1/2 margarine (because that was all the solid margarine I had).  I also added some extra garlic powder, since everyone here loves garlic.  What's really great about these is they use basic ingredients most of us have on hand, and they take less than 30 minutes, start to finish.

 

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
3/4 cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh or dried chopped parsley or chives
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place Bisquick and butter into large bowl, and blend with a pastry cutter or fork, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.  Add remaining ingredients and mix lightly, just until moistened.

Use an ice-cream scoop to drop uniform sized biscuits onto a non-stick baking sheet, leaving space to spread.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until nicely browned.  For crispy tops, brush with whipping cream, butter, or an egg-and-water mixture before baking.  If desired, brush tops with melted butter mixed with garlic powder when they're done.  Makes 1 dozen medium biscuits.

Dang they were good ...

Show & Tell Sunday ~ Precious Art Bits

Thanks to Cerri at Little Pink Studio  for hosting this week's Show & Tell Sunday.  The theme is "show us your precious art bits," and everyone has some wonderful things to share.  Be sure to pop over to Cerri's site for a full list of this week's participants.

Here are a few of my personal favorites ...

These sweet angels are cast resin candle holders.  I've been picking up angels and cherubs at garage sales & thrift stores this year, but don't have any definite plans for them yet.

More resin angels.  I have no idea how old these are ... they might be vintage, but they could just as easily be from the dollar store.

 

Don't they look adorable sitting atop vintage powder boxes?

  

The powder boxes and lotion jar belonged to Gaga -- my grandma Alice, born in 1898 -- and I've had them tucked away for years.  Most still have their original lotions or powder inside.  I'm planning to list these in my eBay store sometime soon.

Check out the label from the back of the blue Lady Esther powder boxe:

So many of my treasures were given to me by Gaga, and I'll be writing about her often and sharing stories and photos.  The necklace and clip-on earrings below were Gaga's:  the pair on the left is circa 1920.  The pewter-and-rhinestone frames are new and were super-affordable when I bought them 4 or 5 years ago, so I have more than a dozen of each style. 

  

The beautiful hand-beaded satin collars below were given to me by my Aunt Yaeko, who grew up in Japan and married my uncle after the Second World War.  They're very intricate, and are meant to be worn like a necklace, perhaps over a little black dress.  Mid-century Japanese women must have had tiny necks, because these stopped fitting me by the time I was 12.  The pearls are imitation, but are very high quality and show none of the flaking typical of faux pearls made later in the 20th century.

  

On the close-up photo below, you can see the 3 rows of silver bugle beads separating the pearls.

 
Here are two more faux pearl necklaces/collars, which I think were mass-produced costume jewelry.  They're not the same quality as the ones above, but they're very pretty.  And they're adjustable, so real women can wear them, not just the skinny Minnies.

 

  

  

I have lots of these small sample-sized perfume and cologne bottles, many from popular mid-century designers like Halston and Oscar de la Renta.  The rhinestone-studded "tray" they're on is an $2 candle-holder from Walmart, designed to hold a 3" pillar candle.

 More shiny bits ... these are collector spoons I purchased in a grab-bag at Savers in Portland.

Speaking of grab bags, here are a few things I found in a 50 cent baggie of sewing supplies at a garage sale:  iron on appliques, two cute Humpty Dumptys cut from printed fabric, and three Wizard of Oz Happy Meal Toys:

 

 

I found this wonderful box of vintage post cards in the free box at an estate sale.

Is there anyone who doesn't love roses?  I'm sure there is, but they're probably not hanging around my blog looking at foofy photos.  CostCo has the best -- and most affordable -- roses around ... I think they're $14 for 2 dozen, and Mr. Vintage buys them for me often.  I dry them all (though not always on purpose) and love to use them in crafts and for decorating.  This basket of dried yellow rosebuds is currently on the kitchen counter at the house I use for my studio and office:

 

Please leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.  I'll be visiting all of the Show & Tell Sunday and Pink Saturday pages during the next few days, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone elses bits.

Victoria 

Pink Saturday ~ Travel Photos

I've been looking forward to Pink Saturday all week, especially since it's my first ... and then I scheduled the post for PM instead of AM, and just now discovered it didn't show up.  So here I am, more than 12 hours later than planned.  I'm obviously still learning my way around the software :o)

I decided to share some pink travel photos taken over the past couple years, because I never get to do much with travel pics.  All bets were off when I got my first digital camera, 10 or 12 years ago.  It was a big ol' thang that weighed more than my 1970s Canon SLR, and it used 3.25" floppy disks.  Memory cards were called memory "sticks" back then, and my digital camera didn't even have a slot for one.  I have more than a thousand floppy disks from my early digital years, which makes me especially grateful for today's itty-bitty memory cards that transfer photos directly to the computer.

Enjoy my fun pink pictures from around and about ...

Westin Los Cabos Hotel, outside Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  The upper level Pepto pink section is the open air hotel lobby, where guests are welcomed with complimentary margaritas.

 

 
A view of the condos/casitas section of the Westin.  To the left of the pink section you can see the umbrellas in one of their wonderfully romantic restaurants.

 

 
3 dimensional artwork on our hotel room wall ... it's an amazingly pink place :o)

 

 
A pink January sunset, from our Westin balcony.

 

A wall of pink roses - winetasing in Clayton, Oregon.

 

 
Night shot taken in garden of Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas.  The hotel room windows are surrounded by pink lights.  I've never stayed here ... I was my friend Jennifer the sights on the strip, and we went outside to see the penguins (the warm-weather kind).

 

 
Poolside/garden entrance to Flamingo Hotel.  I won 500 bucks on a dollar machine while we were cutting through the casino to get back to the street :o)  We celebrated by going to the Brighton store, where I bought us both new purses.  Jennifer chose pink ... she's the pinkest person I know.

 

 
A colored light art installation in the Gloucester Road tube station, London.  Love the rosy pink!

 

Want to see more of today's Pink Saturday photos?  Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for links to all of this week's participants.

5 Friends Video ~ Are YOU Registered To Vote?

Yesterday someone sent me a link to the 5 Friends video, which is a non-partisan reminder to register to vote.  It was entertaining, informative, filled with celebrities, and even has a googlemaps link to register online. 

In the spirit of "just to be certain," I called our local Registrar of Voters, and discovered I was no longer a registered voter.  Huh???  I've voted in every election since 1974 ... so how could I suddenly not be registered?  For unknown reasons, the Postal Service had told them I moved.  Two of the four adults in our house had been removed from the voter registration list, and we had no idea it had happened.

Luckily, in California, the final registration date is Monday, October 20, so we were both able to re-register Friday afternoon. 

The moral of the story?  Take a moment to confirm that your voter registration is active.  I would have been one unhappy puppy on election day if I hadn't done so myself.

Register to vote on WWW.MAPS.GOOGLE.COM/VOTE

Denim Shorts Tool Bucket @ Savers

   

Isn't this the absolute sweetest tool bucket?  I found it on the Savers.com website, where it's one of six winners in the Savers/Value Village "Fight Boring" photo contest.  Congrats to Loralie Cruz of Surprise, AZ, for being chosen, and a huge THANK YOU for the inspiration!

I'm looking forward to creating my own interpretation of this cutie ... a Garden bucket in denim, lace, and jewels, filled with some of the wonderful PINKTOBER garden tools currently available at Target and Walmart.  I have the perfect pair of denim shorts tucked away with in my eBay inventory, so all I need to do is find them (yeah, right) and then find the right size bucket.

Savers is one of my Top Three Favorite Thrift Stores, even though the closest one to my Bakersfield home is nearly 300 miles away.  I make up for the distance by planning major Savers/Value Village shopping trips when I'm in Phoenix (10+ stores), Portland/Vancouver (4 stores), and Vancouver, BC (5+ Value Village stores).

Unlike other thrifts, Savers is partnered with more than 120 local charities and non-profit alliances:  they purchase their donations by the truckload, allowing smaller charities to profit from donations without the hassle and expense of running their own stores.  Savers also has a huge recycling program, that includes donating or selling the items they can't sell in their stores to other organizations around the world, to assist people in need.  That recycling program kept 280 million pounds of unsold merchandise from ending up in the landfill last year alone.

I always find terrific treasures at Savers ... china and glassware, vintage aprons and linens, collectible Pyrex and Corelle for my eBay store, and so much more.  I especially like their mixed grab-bags, hung on the ends of aisles and the back wall, that contain assorted toys, cooking and serving utensils, greeting cards and stationary, etc.  And they have daily mark-down specials based on tag colors, plus they offer a discount to folks over 55 (which means Mr. Vintage shows up when it's time to pay :o)

FYI, Savers is offering Boo-Bucks from now through Halloween, as shown below.  Visit their website for details, and for more inspiration on what to do with your thrift store finds. 

 

Pinktober Breast Cancer Awareness Pin Winner

Congratulations to Nancy @ My Crafty Little Page  who won my Show & Tell Sunday giveaway, which includes this cool limited edition 2008 Stop Breast Cancer For Life pin from Hard Rock Cafe!  Please send me your mailing address, Nancy, so that I can get your package of pink goodies in the mail.

You can help fund free mammograms at absolutely no cost to you simply by clicking on the graphic link below, which takes you to The Breast Cancer Site.  I made the graphic link a couple years ago, and it's OK to copy and add to your own site.

 

Your click on the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button helps fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited. Your click is paid for by site sponsors, and mammogram funding is provided to clinics throughout the U.S. through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation .

 

Early Detection: Do You Know The Facts?

The National Breast Cancer Foundation estimates that each year, over 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 40,000 die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.  Approximately 1,700 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year.

If detected early, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer exceeds 96%.  Mammograms are among the best early detection methods, yet 13 million U.S. women 40 years of age or older have never had a mammogram.

The National Cancer Institute and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that women in their forties and older have mammograms every one to two years. A complete early detection plan also includes regular clinical breast examinations by a trained medical professional. Monthly breast self-exams are suggested in addition.

For more information about breast cancer, see The Breast Cancer Site's About Breast Cancer page or this Healthology page.

Show & Tell Sunday ~ Vintage Aprons

Hello and welcome to Show & Tell Sunday for October 5th.  This week's show and tell theme is Vintage Aprons, and there are lots of wonderful collections to visit today. 

Thanks to Cindy at Junque Art for hosting this week.  Cindy has the full list of participants listed on her site, and you'll also find them at the bottom of this post.

I'm having a special giveaway for Sunday and Monday visitors to this page, so please be to sure leave a comment at the bottom of this post to enter your name in the drawing.  One lucky person will win the sparkly PINKTOBER Breast Cancer Awareness pin shown at the left.  This is the 2008 limited edition pin from Hard Rock Cafe, and it's adorable.  The silver body of the guitar is set with rhinestones (every girl's favorite), and it flips open to reveal the glittery pink BCA ribbon on the inside.  Wear it on your favorite denim jacket and let the world know you support breast cancer screening and research.  The drawing will be held Tuesday morning and the winner will be posted on my blog.

And now to the aprons.   The ones I'm showing today were purchased at a rummage sale in Lincoln City, Oregon, during my 2 week junking trip through the Pacific Northwest in August.  These aprons were 25 cents each ... dontcha just LOVE that? ... and most are destined for my eBay store.

The aprons are being modeled today by my well-endowed mannequin, Babe.  Babe is 6'3" tall, and she got her name by standing around topless and generally startling whatever unsuspecting soul walked into the room, myself included.  Once I became accustomed to her companionship, I started greeting her daily with a chipper "Hey Babe!"

Babe got all dressed up to show off the aprons in true Donna Reed/June Cleaver style, so she's also modeling two vintage dresses made by my mother, and a hefty string of my grandmother's faux pearls. Babe's hair, height, fabulous figure, and graceful self-confident style are all very Jackie Kennedy.  Her pearls are pure Barbara Bush, though they originally came from the era of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Babe's dress is a lovely pink and white gingham topped with white daisies.  Her apron is one of my favorites, a pale green souvenir from Reno, The Biggest Little City In The World.  The street scenes are wonderfully detailed, and the cars place this apron firmly in the 1940s.

This lovely lavendar gingham apron, with contrasting waistband and ruffles, was probably made in the 1950s to mid 60s, based on the peplum-styled ruffles that shown off a slender waist.  It has a deep 4" hem, machine-finished with a zig-zag stitch.  The lace trim on the ruffles appears to be vintage Wright's Seam Binding, which was a very affordable substitute for more intricate lace.

Isn't this delicate white apron gorgeous?  It's made of a very sheer white-on-white floral print cotton, embellished with lovely floral handkerchiefs edged with lace.  The fabric and trim, as well as the length, place this apron in the late 50s/early 60s.  The pink dress gives this apron a pinkish hue in the top and bottom photos, while the apron has more of a grayish-white appearance in the middle picture, where it's being worn over a black skirt.

For the next photo, Babe wriggled into another custom dress made by my mom in the 1960s.  I love the crispness of the oversized red plaid, which reminds me of picnics.  Unfortunately for Babe, the dress could not be fully zipped, due to her bustiness.

This red apron appears to be another 40s to 50s find and, like most of the others, is homemade.  It features a bright red cotton duck apron, topped with a deep contrasting pocket made of textured gingham-and-flowers fabric that's scalloped on both edges.  Vertical stitching divides the pocket into sections.

This bachelor-button-blue apron has lots of nifty details.  This is an apron for a skinny girl, due to the 5 gore skirt and total lack of gathering for fullness.  The fabric has a linen feel to it, with a bit of texture and a looser weave, and the color indicates Depression-era, meaning the fabric could have been a feed sack.  This apron has a tulip shaped hem and small side pockets, and the edges are finished with navy blue bias tape.

Many thanks to Babe for modeling in the middle of the night, so that I could get these photos online Sunday morning.  Living on the west coast means I always feel like I'm late getting things posted, which is actually true, as many of my posts show up right around midnight. 

Please don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in my drawing for the Hard Rock Breast Cancer Awareness Pin.  And be sure to go by Cindy's page to be entered in the drawing for a darling vintage apron.

LuLu, The Chalkware Dog

My grandmother used to keep this little chalkware dog on the living room floor, right inside the front door.  Because the dog was handpainted and easily chipped, it was a "look, but don't touch" item, which made me want to touch it even more :o)  On soft summer afternoons, Gaga (my name for my maternal grandmother) would let me hold it gently in my lap while sitting on a cushiony pile of homemade quilts, just in case ...

When I was small, I was certain the chalkware dog was a boy, though he had no name to confirm that fact.  Dogs were boys and cats were girls.  Cows were girls and horses were boys.  I believed that was the way God created the animals, and therefore the way it should be.

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Gaga lived right across the street from us, in a 2 bedroom war-era cottage identical to ours'.  I officially lived with my mom and dad, but space was tight in the room I shared with my two brothers, so most nights I slept in Gaga's extra bedroom, which had been decorated just for me.

On Christmas Eve, the year I was 10, we moved 40 miles away to a shiny new home in a shiny new town.  I saw Gaga often during the next 8 years, and then not nearly so often after I moved away for college.  Whenever I visited, the little chalkware dog was there to greet me, though I noticed it less and less as I grew older.

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Eventually, Gaga sold her house and moved in with my mom, in the big house that used to be shiny and new.  Many of the things she owned while I was growing up were given away, and most of her remaining personal things spent the next 28 years in boxes stacked in the upstairs hallway, undiscovered, unopened, and unpacked.  Gaga died in 1989, at 91 years of age, and my mother decided the dusty stacks of boxes were not to be disturbed.  I had forgotten all about the chalkware dog.

My mother passed away in early 2007, and many months passed before my brothers and I began sorting through two lifetimes of treasures:  Mom's and Gaga's.  Emptying the house was a long walk through the past ... sometimes-sad, sometimes-delightful, always cobwebbed-and-dusty, and sometimes offering a special surprise.  I resurrected the chalkware dog from a box of ribbons, lace, bank statements, and old birthday cards, all jumbled together from being hastily packed.

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Of course, the dog came home with me.  For the first few months we called him PupPup.  With the bits and bobs of insight I'd acquired over my 50-some years, I decided the chalkware dog was -- and is -- actually a girl, and I christened her LuLu a few weeks ago..

And then, two interesting things happened:

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This week, on Monday morning, I decided to take some pictures of LuLu to share with all of you.  She was in her place of honor, on the shelf of an architectural cove -- don't laugh --above the toilet in the master bathroom.  It's a bright and sunny rooom, with creamy yellow walls and white lace curtains, and LuLu likes it there because she's guaranteed to see Mr. Vintage and myself several times each day. 

I turned LuLu over while taking photos, to see if there were any clues to her provenance (that's the fancy word for "where she came from") or to exactly how old she might be.  I was very surprised to see my Uncle Jerry's name in pencil-printed block letters on the bottom:  it meant that he was the one who had painted LuLu, that he had given her as a gift to his beloved mother, whom he adored, and that he presumably missed his friends from Richmond High.

The quality of the painting is skilled enough to indicate Jerry must have made LuLu as a project in a high school art or shop class, sometime during the Depression.  Uncle Jerry served in the Second World War, and he died in 1953, just two years before I was born.  I have no idea why I didn't look at LuLu's "bottom" during the three months since I brought her home, as it's the first thing I do with most of my finds.  Having found Jerry's name on the bottom, I now have an even greater appreciation of LuLu's sentimental value, and why Gaga worried so much that the chalkware dog would be damaged.

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The other interesting thing happened this afternoon, while I was reading Becky's latest post at Sweet Cottage Dreams.  One of the photos in that post shows the street in front of her house, which looks amazingly like my street in Bakersfield.

Wanting to know more -- including do we really live on the same street? -- I went to Becky's flickr album in search of more information and familiar-looking streetscapes.  I found this sweet photo on her very first page:

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OMG, LuLu has a brother!  Or a friend, cousin, or chalkware soulmate.  Look carefully and compare the two photos:  both of these perky pups were cast from the same mold!  Becky identifies her dog as "an old chalkware carnival toy."  It appears to me that both of these dogs are actually pre-cast chalkware or Plaster of Paris blanks, lovingly painted to capture the hearts of their new owners.  The upturned part of LuLu's tail broke off many years ago, but the rest of the hills and valleys on these cutie pie dogs are the same, they're just painted differently...

After a bit more sleuthing, I discovered that Becky lives in Modesto, about 200 miles north of my Bakersfield home.  Both are smack dab in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley, and it appears that our housing tracts and streets are as similar as our weather..

Thank you, Becky, for the pleasure I got when I found your photo ... truly a hidden treasure and an unexpected twist to LuLu's story!

Handpainted Pumpkins

I paint a big batch of these beautiful jewel-toned pumpkins and gourds every year, and they're as sweet as can be.  They look great scattered down the middle of a party table, with candles of all sizes in rich fall colors.  This project was featured in Sunset Magazine in 2002, and you can find a copy of the article and instructions at Handpainted Party Pumpkins.

I couldn't find my photos from last year, so I borrowed the one above from KinderKorner, my website for teachers, where it's part of a thematic unit called Welcome To The Pumpkin Patch.

KinderKorner isn't just for teachers and homeschoolers, it's for anyone who spends time with young children, and it's a great place to find inspiration for quality-time activities.  I hope you'll stop by and visit the pumpkin patch, where you'll find pumpkin-themed songs and poems, children's art, craft projects, easy-to-make math games, suggested stories, and lots of other fun ideas and activities.  While you're there, check out my other fall pages, including Scarecrow, Scarecrow and The Leaves Are Falling Down.

Scarecrows

Scarecrows mean it's finally fall, even though temps are still in the 90s.

These are at Avila Barn, just outside San Luis Obispo on the road to Avila Beach.