Hummingbirds in Kelsey

Good morning.
Gold Country Sis Tina here. I am having problems with my computer and have already lost this post once so I am trying again.
This is a shot of a hummingbird at twilight through my screen door, looking West. They like to wait until almost dark and then start a mad rush for their bedtime snack. I have several videos showing at least thirty of them fighting it out, but you will have to take my word for it right now. ;-)

Since I can't do my entire post with the photos I wanted this morning, I am just going to leave you with a poem I came up with one morning while I watered. I have to do a lot of watering during the hot Gold Country summers.

This morning I just had to laugh
I gave a hummingbird a bath.
She sat on the fence as I sprayed the flowers,
and buzzed my nose and begged for showers.
Her feathers fluffed in the rainbow spray...
Thank you hummingbird, you made my day!

Enjoy your summer day and have a great 4th of July!

The Evolution Of A Vintage Frame

I found this old frame in the trunk in the basement, along with a bunch of my mother-in-law's college stuff from the 1930's. I think it had a photo of an old flame or a college chum inside. It was in BAD shape, the silvery finish was flaking off, and it was unusable in it's found state. I had to take a toothbrush and brush away the rest of the flaking stuff ( may have had lead in it for all I know!) You can see the stuff in the box beneath it:
I sprayed the top of the frame with spray adhesive, and sprinkled on Martha Stewart Sterling Glitter:
The insert that is actually the easel back has this cool green and black design on the fabric covering it! I left the glass out so I could get this photo:
All done! And it just happened to be the perfect size for this sweet photo of my mother-in-law when she was a little girl:

Much improved from the top picture, don't you agree?

Coca-Cola...And Flowers

Did I read that right, you may be asking?
Coca-Cola and flowers?
Huh?
What do those two have in common?
Well, it all started when I found the book below at a thrift store. Written by Laura Lee Burroughs and published by the Coca-Cola Company in 1941, "Flower Arranging, A Fascinating Hobby". I was intrigued.....
Especially with lovely photos of arrangements like this inside:

And afterward, I came across this advertisement in one of my old magazines. "Get this beautiful book", the ad coaxes - but wait, this is for Volume 1! Oh, why can't I find one that advertises the book that I found?

Ask, and you shall receive, right? I found one! For the very book that I have!
Enjoy your ice-cold Coca-Cola, and create some lovely flower arrangements to decorate your home, so that you can enjoy them together! Why not?
I was getting everything together after I had the idea for this post, and then, what do you suppose I found? You guessed it: another ad, for Volume 3 this time!

Now I have something else to search for, don't I?
Yes. of course I do - Volumes 1 and 3.
In the meantime, I think I'll relax - with a Caffeine Free Diet Coke.
Ahh, The Pause That Refreshes.

Always Thrifting....

Just sharing a few more of my recent finds - this sweet little duck, a Roselane Sparkler, and the white and aqua restaurant china saucer behind him:

Glass pitcher and eight chimney glasses, just perfect for your summer drinks (all were half price at Salvation Army):

An huge robin's egg blue metal serving tray, vintage bark cloth pieces, an hand-painted plate, plus a crocheted doily and potholder:

Autumn colors in this group: tablecloth, a set of six ironstone dinner plates, a spice rack, and one of the little Hallmark books I love:

And an old frame, one of those heavy brass-tone metal ones, into which I promptly placed an old 30's magazine clipping photo of the debonair and dashing Robert Montgomery (father of Elizabeth!)
That's it for today; I'll leave you with that handsome fellow.

A Gorgeous Hunk Of A Man

I found this gorgeous hunk of a man at a thrift store. I felt compelled to bring him home with me. He looks as though he has been beaten up a bit during his lifetime, but no more! He is safe here with me.
I figured he might even be willing to do a bit of modeling for me. Like, for instance, he looks rather handsome in this fabulous Ralph Lauren shirt made from gorgeous fabric reminiscent of vintage barkcloth, which matches the robe I wrote about in this post:
I have no doubt that he and Evelyn Rose, seen below, will get along swimmingly:

Or maybe that's not the best choice of words......

What's Penny Wearing? #30 Purple Summer Breeze

Penny is wearing another one of my vintage dresses today. I call these my hippie dresses - and this one is Purple Summer Breeze because I couldn't get a picture of it outside without the breeze blowing the skirt around. I wore this one a LOT:
The peace sign necklace and belt are new additions - one from Ross, and one from a thrift store. I though they were perfect with this one.

Penny is all set to go to that outdoor rock concert now.
Peace.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are the topic today, simply because they are pretty!
I found this colorful arrangement in Sunset Magazine. Have I mentioned before how much I love Sunset?

Napkins designed by Vera Neumann, from a thrift shop:

Another arrangement, this one found inside of a book I found recently on flower arranging (more about that in an upcoming post):
Sunflowers on a lovely apron, another thrift shop find:
A wonderful photograph from Better Homes And Gardens Magazine:
And these were found at a thrift store, too (like nearly everything I buy!) - sunny sunflowers for crafting:

Have yourself a sunshine day!

Vintage Family Photos

Good morning. Tina here. I am going to share some vintage Gold Country Girl family photos which were given to me a few years ago by my aunt. These photos are from the 1920s.
This is our Gold Country Daddy as a baby in Ohio. I just realized that I don't have any photographs from inside the house. They must have not had flash bulbs in those days. Looking at this photo of Daddy, I can definitely see a family resemblance to just about every baby who has come since. I think it is in the cheeks and the eyelids.

This is our great aunt on the left, our grandma and our daddy again. I think Grandma might have been "with child" carrying our aunt at the time. In this photo our daddy looks a lot like Lori's grandson, or vice versa.

Daddy once again with our grandma. Just to the left of Grandma is a silhouette in the window of our great grandma. I really like the flower boxes on the porch.

This is our grandpa, our great grandma, Daddy, and his little sister. The family resemblance between my grandpa and my son is amazing. Also, I just love the porch here. I could use a trellis like that! Our family moved around a bit before they reached California. I would have loved to see some of these old homes.

Well, that is it for this Wednesday. Hope you enjoyed the old photographs.

Frozen Lemon Yumminess

So, you've got your good old fashioned lemonade - regular or pink, made from frozen concentrate, I'll take a glass of that any old day (and it doesn't HAVE to be from "Sunny California")!:

Or, how about one of these nice cold Kool-Aid Lemon Ice "Slushies"? That sounds good, too!

Or you could try this recipe - I found it in a magazine from 1968. It sounded VERY familiar - I'm pretty sure I made it at least once years ago. Maybe I should try it again with fresh lemon juice. I haven't used bottled lemon juice for years:

Want some frozen lemon yumminess on a stick? Try Dreyer's Lemonade Fruit Bars. (I mentioned in an earlier post that these are the closest thing I've found to the Sunkist Frozen Lemon Bars that we used to get at Disneyland.)
A new item that is really good - and rather decadent - Haagen Dazs Five Lemon Ice Cream:
Want something a little "lighter"? Try Dreyers Slow Churned Lemonade Swirl! Or, my old favorite, (for true lemon-lovers only) Whole Fruit Lemon Sorbet - I think that might be my favorite of all:

That sorbet is like a pint of Lemon Heaven.
Seriously.

Barbie Dress Up Day #5 "Barbie-Q" Aprons

The original Barbie-Q outfit included everything shown here on this page from a vintage Barbie brochure:

I sure do wish I had the accessories that came along with the aprons like these, but I'm afraid Barbie and Midge in their aprons is the best I can do on this one. They're cute, though, don't you think?
Ready for a summer cookout........
.....but they may need to borrow some tools from this blonde Barbie, or maybe Ken has some.....
The red and blue aprons were sold separately with the utensils. I think I would prefer to wear a red or blue apron, rather than white, if I was going to be at the grill anyway:

So, how about some barbecue, "Big Boy"?

Happy first day of summer, everyone! And may you have many tasty "Barbie-Q's" this season!

All About Dads

Yes, it's all about dads today, so I want to wish a very happy Father's Day to my husband, and my two stepsons who have young boys (and another on the way!), and to the Gold Country Girls beloved Daddy, whom we have missed every day since he passed away in 1977:
And my father-in-law, whom we have mourned also, since he passed away in 1999 (shown here in this photo taken in front of our local high school, in the early 30's):

And may I also take this opportunity to wish all of the other wonderful fathers out there a great day, as well!

How About Some (Vintage) Brides For June?

I'll start with Tasha Tudor as a bride. She wasn't actually a June bride, but this article about her wedding appeared in a June issue of a magazine in 1939. I was delighted to finally get my hands on a copy of this!
Another 1939 magazine- this couple is in a hurry! Gotta get started on that honeymoon!
A poem: Three Wishes For a Bride:

"Pink Bride", on the cover of Look Magazine:

Cutting the cake:
And one more lovely bride, here on the cover of McCall's Magazine:

"What it's like to be a bride today."
Hmmm........I believe times have changed quite a bit since then.