Sun....

image source unknown

Rain, Rain go away....

I am so tired of the rain.

We have broken all kinds of records

around rain fall, number of rainy days,

days with out hitting 60....

So many records and one's 

we really are quite tired of breaking.

We are so lucky in Oregon,

we can flush our toilets as much as we want

cause we are never without rain.

I know I should not complain but

should be thankful we don't have a drought

but I have to tell you it would be nice

to see a little sun. 

A day or two a  week would be the break

we all need to dry out,  just a little.

We have a bunch of furniture that 

needs cleaned, refinished or painted

and I have to tell you this rain isn't helping.

I know we will see the sun again soon

but it couldn't get here soon enough.

Ok, I promise to stop kavetching

and go take my Vitamin D.

Thanks for listening. 

Till the sun comes out.

image source unknown

Ciao,

F

Treasures....

it was a good day for flea markets.
i should say it was a good weekend for it.
we had a great time selling at the
Twilight Rummage Sale
last night and of course had to do  a little
shopping while there.

this morning was just a continuation
of good junking. it wasn't really junk
we found but some fun treasures and
great vintage pieces.
fleaing just doesn't sound good as good
as junking.

words and illustrations....

fantastic short stories and illustrations.

flowers....

beautiful old vintage postcards

vintage fabric roses

linens...

darling embroidered baby quilt

isn't he sweet?

this one is going to become a vintage apron

gorgeous hand crocheted table runner

silk and lace kimono, scrumptious

cocktails....

fantastic cocktail set, summer anyone?

victorian....

mom found this beautiful Cushman Smoker last week

all in all it was a great weekend for
some fun finds.

ciao,
f

Twilight....

Come Join us Tonight

at the

TWILIGHT RUMMAGE SALE

4p-8p

at the 

Eagles Lodge

4904 SE Hawthorne 

Full Bar and DJ Alacran will be spinning

$1 admission

Guitars....

today is my husbands birthday.
he had three choices to pick from
for his birthday day.

he chose a new electric guitar.
he is a musician and has been
playing an acoustic classical
guitar for the last 18 years.

he has decided to pick up the
electric again. we drove all over
town looking for the perfect one
within the budget. we stopped
at one called Pro Guitar.
i have seen a lot of guitar shops
but never one like this. it is in an
old building with floor to ceiling
windows, exposed beams, old
hardwood floors. the guys who own
it have an eclectic taste and on top
of all the amazing guitars and gizmo's
that go with them some fun furniture
pieces which unfortunately were not
for sale.
here are two of my favorites.

this fantastic stool made of reclaimed wood.

metal industrial table with wheels to show amps and guitars

who new a guitar shop let alone
an electric guitar shop could have
such a cool space and so well done.
didn't mind shopping at all.

happy birthday honey!
play lots.

Ciao,
F

blogging....

image via 123RF

Blogging is a strange thing. I never thought I would ever
find myself a blogger. I had this notion that it was just people
who wanted to hear themselves talk (or in this case read
themselves write).
I found I was very wrong. There are some amazing people out
there blogging and many who have so much to offer.

I still wonder about blogging. Why blog? Who is it for?
Who reads it?  I started blogging beause I thought it would
be a good tool for Bee & Mason but I'm not sure about
that anymore. I think it has potential to still be a great
marketing tool but I don't have the reader ship as many
others do. Not yet at least.

What I do have is a handful of very good and
supportive friends who do read, sometimes daily other
times occasionally but it does feel good to know they
check in. It is quality versus quantity and I have to sometimes
remind myself that that is very important.
I admit I do look daily to see if I have any comments
and 99% of the time I don't but when I do it's like
finding a chocolate easter egg on Easter morning.

I still find myself censoring my writing. I work for
a major corporation and in today's world one must be
so careful so that nothing can be used against you at
some later time. I hate this. I don't use that word lightly.
I quite frequently get accused of being to honest
or to direct. Really people, I am who I am and a little
honesty in this world we live in today can be refreshing.

Some day I will get to truly be who I am on paper but
until that day a little censorship may have to stay in
place but know that what I write is still true to who
I am.

That takes me back to the reason to blog. It is still
a question I have but I am willing to continue the journey
and discover the why's, who's, what's and how's of the
world of words and images.
Be True!

Thanks for reading. And if you want to leave me a
little chocolate easter egg, please don't hesitate.
There's nothing like finding one to put a smile on
a girls face.

Ciao,
F

Mint....

start saving those after dinner mints when you go out
cause you won't want to miss out on an opportunity
to impress your friends and family with the following
recipe i found.

Mint Grapefruit

"When serving grapefruit, it often whets the appetite to 

prepare it in a variety of ways.

One of our favorite combinations is grapefruit and mint. 

Prepare the grapefruit in the usual manner, 

removing the tough portion in the center and

separating the pulp from the skin around the entire 

circumference.  Place one after-dinner mint in the center

of each prepared half-grapefruit, chill thoroughly 

and serve.  This combination is particularly good for the 

dessert course."

Mrs. R. W. S. Kansas. 1923

finally a good use for those extra after-dinner mints

you find in the pockets of your coat or at the bottom of 

your purse.

Ciao,
F

 

vintage....

Sun,

a good run

 and an estate sale.

Perfect morning.

found two in mint condition

loved the yellow

finally found one

ciao,

F

advice....

i am not a fan of bananas.
i'm actually allergic to them.
it's really not a pretty sight to see.
if my poor husband wants to kiss
me after he has eaten a banana
has to brush his teeth or eat
something else after because
just the smell or taste makes me gag.
i know weird but that's the way it is.

on the other hand, one of my favorite
foods is popcorn.
i can eat popcorn pretty much for any
meal and be quite happy.
if my husband isn't home to cook
dinner i am known to make a bowl
of popcorn and open a bottle of wine
and call it dinner. yummm!

you're probably wondering where is she
going with all this.
there is a purpose.
in my little household discoveries
book from 1923 i find a recipe that
i couldn't believe and had to just share
with all of you.

Popcorn and Banana Salad

"When making banana salad,

try substituting popcorn in

place of the walnuts or peanuts

that are usually used.

Cut the banana in halves

lengthwise and place on 

lettuce leaves.

Decorate with salad dressing

and popcorn.

The result is very artistic and

economical."

E.Q., Quebec 1923

image via Chris Deeds

so my least favorite food paired
with one of my favorites
who would have thought it possible.

ciao,
f
 

words....

a very good friend lent me some magazines
that have been inspiration to her over the years.
It's called The Sun.

the first article i came across was about
the ancient power of poetry.
like many of you i grew up reading poetry,
having to memorize it in school and
often not connecting to it.
as an adult poetry has come and gone in my life.

the article was about Kim Rosen and her
philosophy on poetry.
it goes something like this,
there is value in becoming a "disciple"
to a poem written by someone else
and that poems can be powerful medicine
for the mind, body and soul.

it got me thinking about poetry again
and how it has a certain power to connect
that a novel, a article or a quote does not.

this brought me to reading some of my
favorite poets.
i thought maybe i would share.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

ciao,
F

Rain....

it has been biblical rain here in the lovely
Pacific Northwest and being a born and
raised PNW girl myself you would think
all this rain would be just fine with me,
not so much.
my husband says that it's that time of year
and i just need to suck it up cause it's not
going to go away. i reminded him that i usually
start getting water logged in february and
have made it to mid-march before turning
into a pile of wet newspaper. i think this is
a vast improvement. don't you?
with that in mind i realized that maybe i
just needed some color, so dug through
some of my old photos and found a few
that reminded me that, yes,  we will see
the sun again and color will return to life
her in the pacific northwest.

the above are from the yard

farmers market last summer

ciao,
f

packaging....

my mom picked this little kitchen
tool up today. it's a simple contraption,
one that is used for only one thing,
opening cans.
it wasn't so much the can opener inside of the box
i liked but the box it's self.
it's so vintage, the color, the copy,
the design. i love it.
they don't design them like this anymore.
it's enough to make me buy a can opener.

pops of red and the image in black and white

back when they made steel products in the US

not only does it hold the lid, it's safer and more sanitary

Ciao,
F

Marcia....

Marcia is my best friend. we have been
friends for a very, very long time.
she is one of the reasons i love to junk.
we use to do many a flea market in NY
and the midwest and anywhere else we
might be together.

she regularly junks and has an amazing
eye for the best treasures and prices.
she has been cleaning out her basement
but also i think we have given her an
excuse (not that she needs one) to be out
junking. we are not complaining cause
she has been sending us boxes with
the most delightful finds.

well we got one on monday and last
night i finally had time to go through
it. it was as  good as christmas.

here are a few pictures of our
marcia treasures.

love this little guy

look at his friend and that shade.

1940 navy straw hats

and more beautiful hats

stargazer lilies

roses

a huge thank you to marcia.
we love you!

ciao,
F

Advice....

i know i am a day early but i figured it was late enough in the day to post tomorrows advice.
maybe you will find it useful at home or for a smile to brighten your day.

"Care In Using Electricity"
Now that electrical devices of all kinds re so constantly used,
man women forget that certain precautions must be 
taken in their use.
Never turn electricity on or off when you are standing on a wet or even damp floor.
If you do so, the current is apt to ass through your body.
This advice is particularly applicable to the kitchen, bathroom
and laundry where water is most likely to be spilled."
Mrs. J.T., NY 1923

her stove is right next to the sink, odd placement. she could be at risk .

I found this to be very good advice. It has the same concept
as not taking a bath while drying one' hair.
Good common sense.


ciao,
F

weekend....

we had a great weekend.
saturday it was a bit of where
ever the car takes us we will
go. glad we followed the car, it
didn't steer us wrong.

sunday my mom and i went to
an auction out in the country,
which was quite the affair and
my mom's first auction. look
out peeps she has got the bug.

here are some of the highlights
from our treasure hunting.

Victorian cast iron counter scale

painted photo of a bride

she and her husband. what a handsome couple

the children of course

1904 universal break maker

a few of the smalls we found

hope you had as much fun as we
did this last weekend.

ciao,
f

Thoughts....

 "Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be."
-Khalil Gibran 

advice....

it's wednesday so you know what that means,
that's right it's advice day.
i thought this one was particularly helpful
this time of year since it is cold throughout
the country still.

"Hanging Clothes in Cold Weather"
In cold weather i pace my clothes-pins in a pan in the warming oven. 
When I am ready to hang out the washing, I put the hot clothes-pins
in the clothes-pin bag. Each time I reach for a pin, my fingers get
warm, and the hot clothes-pins also help to keep the corners from 
freezing too much in hanging the clothes straight.
Mrs. B.A.D., Utah 
 

 

image via mlbncga

there you go. remember when hanging your laundry
on a cold day warm up those clothes-pins and you
should be set to go.

Ciao,
F