You are going to have to forgive any mistakes I may make today, because I am writing in the post-turkey stupor stage, and who knows what will come out of my brain in this condition. It was a different Thanksgiving for us, as it was the first since the passing of my mother, and the Summer Intern is still in Korea. At least I get him back for Christmas. Even with some absences, it was good to be surrounded by family and to share a meal. I hope you all had a chance to be with either the family you got, or the family you choose. They are all good.
Welp, The turkey is a pile of bones, and you know what that means: the slide into Christmas is in full swing. I will only toss in one little preview this week, as I have an assorted pile to get through, and I don’t want you to obsess about how many shopping days are left before you know what. I think this one is pretty painless:
I am not sure I have ever seen macramé “improved” by silk and plastic flowers, a yarn Santa, berries, and a flocked ribbon before. I think they covered all the bases. You could probably take it apart and make five different decorations and still overdo them.
No more Christmas for now. I’ve been wanting to share this cookbook with you for a while, as I had never heard of this product before. The recipes are used to make ice cream, and it seemed kind of cool. A couple of months after I found the booklet, I was shopping at a local grocery store that sells closeouts. They have a whole lot of odd stuff, and lo and behold, an actual package of Junket:
Here is the index to the cookbook. Notice the date of 1940:
I would assume that most of these other products no longer exist, but at least you can still make ice cream. Haven’t tried it yet. I will let you know how it goes. In return, let me know if you can still find Junket in your home area!
When we went to see the solar eclipse a few weeks ago, we stopped in a really cool antique mall in Santa Fe. I was admiring oh so many things in there, till I turned the corner and came face to face with this:
This gets a four star WTF? A close-up of some rather prominent body parts:
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this was done by a man. No offense fellows, but really? What sort of magic mushroom induced state did this come from? Or perhaps, we should blame the wine, as a whole lot must have been drunk to get this many corks. The tennis shoes are particularly jarring, as you get the feeling she may get up and walk your way, and then how fast would you have to run? I personally am not going to stick around and see what a cork covered lady has to say.
This store had a very nice collection of things related to the Harvey Houses. A couple of weeks later I picked up this book:
If you can find it in your local library, it is a fascinating read. Fred Harvey was an amazing businessman, and his standard of excellence was second to none. We have always enjoyed the buildings left over as part of his legacy: La Fonda in Santa Fe, El Tovar at the Grand Canyon, La Posada in Winslow AZ, and even the Castenada in Las Vegas NM that has yet to be fully restored. We took the time to watch the Harvey Girls movie with Judy Garland (available to rent on Amazon) and I scoured the net looking for a little piece of Harvey history and came up with a couple of swizzle sticks for my collection. For those who love history and the Southwest, give this book a try. You will enjoy it.
Most of the smaller thrift stores down in the area of NM, where we saw the eclipse, were mostly overpriced junk, and digging through it all was a bit of a letdown. I did find this booklet in one place, and lo and behold, books were free there!
Not that I would have been willing to pay a whole lot for this, but after a quick thumb through, I had to have it just for this photo:
These men know they look like complete horses’ asses, and yet they are bravely making the best of it. Gosh, I hope they paid them a whole lot! Can you imagine what they said in the dressing room, as they donned these stunning (and not in a good way) outfits?
The rest of the book was not a huge treat either. If Deb ever mortally offends me, I am making her that trio of crocheted poodles. [Deb here. I’ll be good. Scouts’ honor.] I must say that the Aran afghan and pillows were very pretty and would not be out of place in a home today. The rest of the sampling would best be burned.
Back home again, I spotted this shell box:
I only snapped a pic, as I loved the way they stacked the long spiral shells on the sides. Pretty clever I thought, and overall not a bad little piece of shell craft. (I may be losing, it folks; send help!)
These last two, I dragged home. Grabbed this little lady in a local online auction:
Even though some of her outfits were pretty cute (the green and white one was considered an evening gown, if you can believe it.) I still maintain that Kenner’s Dusty doll is one of the homeliest dolls ever made. Look at that face:
And no matter how you look at it, the “shag” haircut was never very pretty. This doll and her clothes were in pristine condition. She even came with her golf and tennis rigs, plus a trophy that she apparently dons her evening clothes to accept. I am pretty sure I know what happened. Some little girl opened up this wholesome doll on Christmas morning, took one look at her, tossed her in the corner and went to her best friend’s house to play with her new Barbies that her mom got right! If for some odd reason this doll really floats your boat, she will be available on my Etsy page soon.
I also purchased this library table recently. Did I need a library table? Nope, did I buy it? Yep, there is no way I am going to leave an L&JG Stickley library table wasting in a thrift store:
I had to stand on my head, and use my phone to find the label, as they had quite a bit stacked on top of it. Then I called my husband and had a frantic conversation in a whispered mode, as I didn’t want anyone to hear me say Stickley. I had a small table in this spot in the house that 18 pound Ramses was way too big for, and he refused to stay off it. This will fill the bill and a fine Arts and Crafts desk is saved from some frat house. The lamps on this table sort of tell you my whole esthetic. If it is fun, makes me laugh, and is different, home it comes. I was going to sell the camel, but it grew on me. I have to go find a shade for it. The desk will also get a lovely Arts and Crafts linen runner, once the wax finish sets a bit, as the top was pretty beat up.
Deb should be back soon, and we will be up to our normal hijinks again!
Second Hand Roses 