Lounge Chair Road Trip No. 18: Newcastle, California

Good morning, Tina here.


Heading out (in my mind) to the north of us to Placer County to the charming Railroad burb of Newcastle, which I will show you through a few postcards.

I remember this little town near Auburn fondly since a childhood friend of mine moved there while I was still in grammar school and we went to visit. We had so much fun!

I remember feeling like we had the run of the town, which was dirt streets, packing sheds, a railroad depot, small stores, and my very favorite of all... old Victorian houses (one which was rented by my friend's family of nine kids).

Here is one of the long packing sheds. Debbie's dad had a business making oak briquettes coated with wax to barbecue with, which I think was very forward thinking for the 'sixties, and packed them for sale in one of the sheds. We thought it was great fun to ride down the bumpy conveyor belts in the old wooden fruit boxes!



I haven't been to Newcastle in a few years, but now it has a couple of stores and a few restaurants and the long sheds hold commercial efforts of various sorts, changing now and then.

Oh what fun it would have been back in the day to ride the train to or through Newcastle!

I guess maybe I should have called this post a Lounge Chair TRAIN Trip...

Because, although the postcard above, the newest I have, is from the 'sixties. just like Mr. Bumpus's briquettes, the train still runs through the historic town of Newcastle.



Vintage Dazee "Put-Ons"

I found these groovy vintage Dazee Pets "Put-Ons" a while back.
Blue and green chickens:

Pink and orange lions:

Blue and green bunnies:

And pink and orange monkeys:

Aren't they the cutest??

I wish I had found more of them!
These chickens were on eBay (they aren't mine):

Here is the back of the package:

I've found some other colorful vintage things, too - like these "Label-Licks":

Mushrooms!

So - perhaps it seems crazy for me to love this colorful, fabulous stuff so much - but I simply DO.
I do not know whether I will ever use them, but I may be able to display them, at least!

Gotta go- but there's nothing to stop you from "hangin' around" awhile - we do have more than 3000 posts here on the blog for you to read, and (hopefully!) enjoy!

My Newest Watercolor Acquisition: Charles F. Surendorf

Tina here. This is going to be very short.

Ever since Heidi got married, and acquired some lovely Surendorf works, I always wanted one of my own, and I finally did purchase a beautiful painting of the historical Episcopal church in Sonora.  I am embarrassed to say I have never hung it since I have so much other art on my walls! I would show it here but it is packed away, so another time.

A few weeks ago I found another I could not resist. It is of an old farmhouse with the usual spooky foliage he seems to enjoy adding into his works, forming imaginative mystical shapes.

I have a feeling I will be spending many hours just looking up at this house and making up stories in my head about my life here. Right now I am sitting on the porch with a glass of iced tea, no lemon or sugar, swatting the first mosquitoes of the season, and finishing this post. Cheerio!



Vintage Clothing, Decor - And Much More.....

It's the last three days of the little sale I am having in my Etsy shop; it ends May 4th at 11:59 pm.May 4th.
The photos I'm posting here today show a small sample of the types of items I have currently listed.
If you visit my Etsy shop "Cool Paisley Cat", you will find a coupon code to enter for 25% off the current listed price of each item you order.
Please note that interested international buyers must contact me first (through Etsy, only, please - NOT through comments here on the blog) to inquire about shipping.
I have this fabulous rooster wall hanging:

This gorgeous vintage skirt:

 A colorful burlap bag:

Toddler dresses:

Aprons:

Pictured here are a pair of granny square pillow covers:

I have shirts and tops:

This fabulous vintage needle-punch silhouette pillow cover...

 ....  and much more, including kitchenware, collectibles and crewelwork craft kits.
Head on over and take a look if you have a chance!

(Just click on my shop name at the top of this post.)