My daughter Emma and I went on a garden tour in our neighborhood this weekend. The gardens were interesting; one guy's draw was that he harvests bees. Ten thousand swarming bees is not my idea of a good time, I don't care how pretty the flowers are. Emma was petrified. Anyway, we hightailed it outta there and headed to the next one on our list. Nancyland, the garden of my dreams.
Translation: My Garden Kicks Ass
Nancy, the Queen of Junk Horticulture
I have been on the lookout for the quintessential vintage pencil sharpener for months. Last Friday, I am happy to report, my search ended at NE 111th St. and Halsey in Portland, Oregon. There he was, sitting on the shelf at the Adventist thrift store, alongside the flotsam & jetsam of leftover garage sale office supplies. My husband will be attaching him to the pantry door in the kitchen so I can keep my eye on him. Do you think I paid too much?
At a recent sale, on a Sunday ~ i.e. half price day ~ I spied a Nike shoe box full of vintage postcards. The price tag attached to the box read: $1.00 each. With the box in my hand, I turned to the guy running the sale and before I could even ask, he said, "5 bucks for the box". Oh Joy! There are old postcards from all kinds of delightful places, but when I came across this one, my heart jumped a little. It is just magnifique...lights on the Eiffel Tower, the old cars, the colors of the sky at dusk and the whisp of smoke rising...perhaps from a passing train? Love it!
Fun Junk is like heaven on earth in Olympia, Washington. Some of you gals were lucky enough to meet Nancy and shop at her booth at Farm Chicks. I am lucky that my in-laws live right around the corner from her shop. I have this deal with my husband; when we are on our way to his parents' house, I get to stop and wander and drool at Fun Junk. In return, I promise to be really nice to his mother. Lets' go inside, shall we?
This photo was taken when my dad joined the Navy. The year was 1942, he was 17 years old. I love this picture of him. My dad loves root beer, his rose bushes (which he inherited from his father Otto), butter pecan ice cream, his dog Deuce, living by the ocean, and Sallie ~ my mom ~ his wife of 61 years. Happy Father's Day Dad!
I almost forgot it was Thursday! I'm getting this in right under the wire. I get to play VTT with my other junky friends! Check out details and other players at Colorado Lady. Here's today's showcase from yours truly, One Gal's Trash:
I ♥ vintage place card holders. Especially the glass flower ones made in Czechoslovakia, when there was such a thing as Czechoslovakia. I found the really big ones at the Goodwill, the 2 orange trees I bought at Expo a few years ago and the 4 small flower pots are part of a set of 12 I found on eBay. Colorful, charming, sweet!
Then suddenly I remembered a chocolate drink that you can get in New York called Yoo-Hoo. I've never seen one on the west coast. It's sort of like chocolate milk, but not.
I put the two things together and realized: I wanna Ho-Ho and a Yoo-Hoo!
Then there were boxes lined up along the driveway. Everything in those boxes was a dime: 
I finally made it into the house and picked up a few things there too. The total for this pile was about $2:
My heart was pounding when I got into the car. Just as I was pulling away, I caught a glimpse of the FREE box. I found Christmas carol sheet music, and two vintage versions of Peter Rabbit. I especially like the one on the bottom. Someday, in the dark of the rainy and endless northwest winter, I will put these pages in vintage frames I have stashed in the garage, and I will be happy.
My son picked this rose for me when he was out walking the dog today. I put it in a bowl that used to belong to my grandparents. Millie and Otto had a set of these turquoise footed bowls. They had ice cream in them every night after their dinner. I am not sure what happened to the rest of the set. I have two, I hope my sisters have the others. I like to use them for special things, like when my son picks a rose for me while out walking the dog.
One of my vintage collections lives on a bookcase in the garden room. Springy shades of pottery vases from places near and far. The turquoise urn on the far right is from an auction in Gainesville, Florida, the mint green basket is from Edinburgh, Scotland and the tall green vase with the flower came from a junky shop in New York City.
Which one is your favorite?
Vintage flash cards, hand made baby sweater set, bag o' vintage floral leaves, a large green faux Bakelite ring that I will fashion into a towel holder, a small box of vintage clothing tags that read "Handmade by Eleanore"... 
Pair of vintage Christmas bells with holly decals, 18 mini tart tins in original box, a red Dymo label maker, 2 boxes of vintage tinsel and a fab set of glasses. See the wave pattern along the top of the glass? Perfect for the hut!
There was lots of Christmas stuff too; I had to paw through a lot of styrofoam and melted wax to find these holiday delights...
When I went to the checkout, the sweet cashier said to me, "We are just about ready to close up ...how about $5 for everything?" I gave her $10.
The Kit & Caboodle. I have found old jewelry, picture frames and fun vintage crafting supplies here. Mint green knitting needles! Orange ball fringe!
The gals at K & C told me there was a rummage at "The Moose", so I hightailed it over there. Things looked pretty dead when I arrived.
Things looked really dead upstairs. I guess this is why they call it "The Moose". I should have asked what the price was for Bullwinkle. He would look just perfect in the hut over the mantel. Oh wait...we don't have a mantel. Nevermind.
Have you met Audrey? She is my true summer love. I found her at a church rummage a few years back for $7. I had a similar purple Schwinn when I was a kid and loved that one too. Audrey sports purple sparkly handle bar covers, the original seat with a big S on it, and a bell that goes "bring bring!". She rides like a dream ~ one speed only ~ thank you very much. Look for us this weekend gliding down Easy Street in Rockaway Beach!
Set up: I was in my early 20's, living in London, gettting around on these
and working at Chicago Rib Shack. (The original restaurant closed in 1999. This link is a review about the new "improved" version.)
I served exceptionally mediocre BBQ to well-heeled Londoners and obnoxious American tourists. John McEnroe once came in for dinner after winning Wimbledon. Let me just ask; if you were John McEnroe, and had just won Wimbledon, why in the #%&*^! would you go have dinner at the Chicago Rib Shack? One of the busboys (I so wish I could remember his name, he was a dead ringer for Mathew Broderick. Adorable.) Anywho, cute busboy collected autographs but was too shy to ask McEnroe. I, of course, was not. True to his reputation, the master of the tennis court was surly and foul. (I also waited on Martin Sheen at a different restaurant in London...but, even I know that I am now getting so far off track, I may never get back.)
One of the other servers at CRS was Maddy. We were fast friends and partners in crime. Maddy had a younger brother whose name will remain unspoken. He was a few years younger (!) than me. He had brown eyes, dark curly hair and well, you know, that accent. I was all over him like a cheap suit. We used to go for long drives (on the wrong side of the road) in places that looked like this.
And I remember one rainy afternoon, snogging with him in a pub at the end of this pier in Brighton. He was yummy.
I'm still in touch with his sister. When she emailed me photos of his wedding a few years ago, my feelings were a little hurt. That is the definition of insanity.
