My Picnic Pal

I've always loved these food carriers, but now
I am the proud owner of my very own "Picnic Pal":

 I could not resist the allure of these pretty stylized flowers in blue and green:

 And the price was fair, too.

 I found it at an antiques shop in Georgetown where Tina and I shopped before going to dinner on her birthday last week. Tote picnic fare as shown in the picture, or you could  always carry two pies and a layer cake to a potluck or a church social:

So now I just need a campout, cookout, party or potluck supper to go to, right?
(Oh, and I found the pretty cloth napkins beneath it the same day at a thrift shop. They look great together!)

The View From My Window

This was the view that greeted me just the other day when I looked outside my window:

 Grabbed my camera and took pictures through the glass:

 Nope, I'm actually over here, guys:

 Oops - I have been "spotted" by this little one (pun intended):

 And right after the photo below, he, too, scampered away to join the rest of the family:

Watching deer always gives me a calm and peaceful feeling.
There's something so sweet and serene about them.

School's In

Schools are now in session around these parts.

Not many will head for school dressed like this adorable pair (from a 1944 advertisement for Campbell's Soup), but here's wishing the best to all of you with kids - for a nice and easy time of it with the whole "getting-back-into-the-routine-of-things" deal.
I may say this every year, but the fact that school begins in August still just seems so weird to me.
 Can't get used to it, and I probably never will.
Not that it matters.
Happy school days!

What to Write???

What happens when you are a blogger and you get writer's block?

I have nothing to say.

I will have plenty to say tomorrow, but today I feel there is an absolute blank in the story of my life.

All the many ideas that swirl around in my brain refuse to stand still and to form themselves into a shape I can capture and paste onto the screen.

I did my usual search through my photographs... no one wants to hear about this... no one would be slightly interested in that... I don't even care about any of these...

I saw a very old friend the other day and we had so much to say we forgot to eat lunch until it was almost time for dinner...  I was interesting that day, what happened?

I promised my little sister Heidi I would write a post every Wednesday, otherwise I would have just slept in this morning. Even my half-remembered dream about losing my keys was more fascinating than this.

Come on Tina, at least pull out a picture, and let's end this, and put us out of our misery.

See ya next week when hopefully the creative writing fairy will sprinkle me with a bit of inspiration.

Flower Pow(er) From Hanes, Circa 1968

Hosiery from Hanes, with a punch of sixties flower power; the text from this advertisement found in a Seventeen magazine can be seen below exactly as shown in the vintage ad:

"Pick a flower. Power.
 Do a daisy. Crazy.
 Plant your stems in panty
 hose. Stretch nylon crepe
 fresh from the Hanes
 hothouse in shocked and
 whispered tones. For a
 bloomin' pow wow,
 buy dozens."

Gifts For Tina, And A Good Time

Tina's birthday fell on one of my days off this year, so I was able to head over that way and spend time with her for her special day.

She loved her gifts, which made me very happy! I found a lovely little vintage nasturtium still life framed print for her (huge!) nasturtium collection:

 An hand-painted mirror...

.... to add to her collection of them in their downstairs bathroom, which is decorated with all things celestial:

 A nice blouse with pretty colors I just KNEW she would like:

 We went out to dinner at the fabulous Camp Virner in Georgetown:

 We both chose their delicious pork chops:

One of her other gifts was this magazine article, below: 

You may think "What the heck kind of present is that?".
I will tell you - it's a darned good one!
 It was from the magazine below, which her ex-husband had thrown out years ago when they moved from one place to another. For 40 years, she lamented the loss of that magazine because she had tried (and had great results with)  the pizza dough recipe inside, and had intended to hold onto it forever. She mentioned it quite a while back, and I was bound and determined to find the article she wanted. Thank you, eBay! She had told me approximately when (what year)  it had been that she had first tried her hand at that homemade pizza dough.
 Hello, November 1972.
I was thrilled when I found it:

I only wish I had been able to stay over at her house long enough that we could have made some of that pizza!
Maybe next time.

Simplicity Pattern # 9800

What adorable outfits these are, from a Simplicity fashion booklet, circa 1971! Bright colors, jumper-like smocks, I think they are too cute!

Here's the pattern, below:

The photo of the models looks better.
They just look like perfect back-to-school outfits for fall to me.

Thrifty Finds In Blue And Green

Another owl, in blue this time, and with him below are a couple of placemats in that gorgeous combination of blue and green:

I found a trio of blue Pyrex bowls, and another one of these vintage recipe boxes:

A blue bud vase - and my paper flowers that were truly meant to go inside:

Gratuitous flower close-up:

A table-setting featuring the color combo, from a thrifted cookbook:

A vintage napkin holder with a couple of cloth napkins, one patterned and one as abackground, in chartreuse:

May the blues of the sky and the ocean, and the green of the grass brighten your day today.

Beautiful And Brightly Colored Quilt Tops

I found three gorgeous quilt tops recently. I simply couldn't resist their colorful designs. A yellow background with all sorts of pretty patches:

Bright pink flowers on a green background:

You KNOW how I love color, right?

I am not a quilter, but I certainly can appreciate the work that goes into these!

I don't know what I am going to do with them yet:

But when I see something this beautiful, it is much too difficult for me to leave them behind:

Lazy Summer Day

Good morning, Tina here. 

It's a lazy summer day in Kelsey.

Ishi is kicked back near the woodstove... the cats' favorite place in the winter, a strange choice on a warm summer day, but who am I to judge?

 Luna is resting on the front porch stairs, trying to decide where to settle for the afternoon.

I am contemplating a long nap cuddled up on the settee.

I love these lazy summer days.

My Very Own Tool Box

I found this tool chest at a thrift store:

It's not perfect, but it's good enough for me. I think I may cover the rusty little spots with vintage stickers. Flower power - something like that. I lined the bottom with some vintage vinyl wallpaper:

I love that it has a lift-out tray in the top. I lined that, as well:

My very own portable tool box. I can even add a padlock, if I feel the need to do so:

First I think I need to fill up my very own tool box with some of my very own tools.
I like it very much.

Thrifty Finds In Orange And Yellow

I found this partial package of my favorite paper flowers from the 60's at one of my favorite thrift shops here in town. Coincidentally, I had just purchased some that are just the same from Laurie, of Magpie Ethel fame:

Found a sweet litle Hallmark Friendship plaque:

Pretty polka-dotted cloth napkins, and a bright bandanna:

A floral print in a yellow and white frame. I plan to replace the print with something different:

Another pretty floral linen; this one is a table runner - can't recall whether I showed it to you before or not!

An orange wooden mushroom shaker made by Catalina, and a little orange vase, along with another set of cloth napkins - with butterflies, this time.
:

Sweet and sunny finds.