My summer...

Wow, what happened to summer? My tomatoes are just beginning to ripen, the garden is a jungle and I'm way behind on my blog. Been busy with summer life... holidays, get-togethers, church projects, and of course, auctions and thrifting. Here are some photos of a really fun collectibles event held on a farm near my home town. This place is called "The Shed." Treasures galore!!

A Vintage Flower

A friend reminded me I hadn't posted to my blog in a really long time... has it really been more than a month? This spectacular peony is just one of the reasons I've been blog lazy. Gardening is my great passion and peonies are my favorite flower... I planted this one three years ago. So beautiful and the fragrance is heavenly.

I'm still thrifting too... bought a huge stack of vintage cookbooks at an estate sale last week but haven't had a chance to sit down and poke through them. There are seedlings to plant and a garden to water... soon though. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer thrifting and gardening!

Nothing to do with anything...

Okay, this is a bit off track, but hey, it's MY blog, right! Two days ago I saw this little guy hanging around the yard underneath the big pine tree in the morning and then later in the day just lying in the grass soaking up the sun. We don't have dogs (just cats) so he must have felt comfortable enough to be out and about during the day (we usually only see racoons at night). I grabbed my camera and shot this seriously amateurish video of Coonie (named after Jack's childhood pet racoon... real original, I know. :)) I have been messing around with this video all morning... even added my own audio clip! Woo Hoo... look out Kathryn Bigelow!

A chopper what?

This is a chopper hopper.

What?

I honestly didn't know what this was either when I brought it home from a recent auction. It was in a box with some other stuff I wanted, so it came home with me. I thought it might just be a lidded jar to hold cotton balls or something on a vanity until I googled "chopper hopper."

OMG! yea, it's for holding dentures. That's why it's a grandma character holding a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. People who wear dentures apparently don't sleep with them in their mouths... they put them in a container on the night stand.

Classic dental Americana maybe? We'll see, it's going on ebay very soon. Creeps me out actually, though it doesn't appear to have ever been used. Euw!

Hallelujah!

Happy Easter to all!

A clean house = bliss ineffable!

It's always a struggle for me in the Spring... should I work in the yard or should I start Spring house cleaning? Today it's overcast and will probably rain, so it's definitely a cleaning day.


When I was a child in the 50s, I watched my Mom perform Spring house cleaning chores every year. She'd wash windows, clean and re-install window screens, shake out rugs, launder curtains, wipe down walls and cabinets, flip mattresses and of course, scrub floors. Mom didn't have a very big house to take care of, but still, it was alot of work. She taught me well and I like to think I was partially listening.

I begin my ritual with window and screen cleaning, then decluttering... that takes several days. Then I loosely follow Mrs. Clean's advice in no particular order. Sometime around June, I'll decide I've done enough.

Throughout this process, I use a homemade, frugal, less-toxic all-purpose cleaner that I just love. Here's the recipe: to a big bucket of hot water, add 1/2 cup borax, a splash or two of ammonia, and a teaspoon or two of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (I use peppermint). It has just the right mix of clean smell and fragrant smell... much better than store bought. And it gets me motivated! So for the next couple of weeks imagine me as the retro gal above... except I won't be wearing the dress.

What to do with all this...

bias tape!

There is alot of it... dozens and dozens of packages of single fold and double fold in every imaginable color... many still unopened. When I saw these at a recent auction, my hand went up like a rocket but now I'm not sure why... in the back of my mind I think I had a plan for them, but now can't remember what it was! I'm suffering from inventory overload. I can barely get into the room where I store all my auction finds and this box is one that's been staring back at me for weeks. Help! What should I do with it? Your ideas are very much appreciated!!