Leoni Meadows Field Trip, Part One

Tina and I went on a field trip to Leoni Meadows in Grizzly Flats, California with the El Dorado County Historical Society. Lori wrote a post about the trip two years ago after she had gone with Tina, but I had never been there before.

The painting above was done, I believe, from a photograph of the old homestead before it was restored. Below, you see the home the way it looks today:

Complete with chickens strutting around in the yard:


A scene on the front balcony:
Some of the family who lived in the home:

A view - of the "Meadows" - gorgeous:

The colorful engine of the Glover-Roderick Railroad:

Another view, this time from the train:



I enjoyed the train ride, although we weren't able to take the whole loop due to track issues.
Coming up in Part Two, a tour of the homestead.

He's A Real Looker

North, south, east, west......
His is the face I like the best.

(The latest acquisition for my growing 60's/70's insane obsessive collection!)

Out Of The Closet

Once again, I dug into a box up on the top shelf of a closet here in our old family home, and found remnants of Halloweens long since past. Like, from the 50's past. I had gotten into that box before - but I looked at the stuff and thought "Oh, cool!" and put it back. This time I got it out and took pictures of it instead. I shared some vintage Halloween photos of my husband, his older brother, and some neighborhood friends back in this post from 2008 and this post from last year.
(You can see them wearing some of these headdresses, and costumes if you click to go back and view those old photos.)
I love old costume stuff, and I am totally digging the feathers:

And I found this little handmade fringed costume:

I found the missing feather from the one below after I took these photos:
I like the little scene on this band, it is made of a soft cotton like felt or something (sorry it's blurry!):

But check out the one below!!
Is it gorgeous or what? It's larger than the other three, and I think perhaps it was worn by an adult, rather than a child. The feathers are such a pretty color:
And I found one more thing - the little "hobo" costume below, made from an old cut-off, patched pair of jeans and a ratty old man's vest:

A little costume blast from the past.

Every Woman's Home Cookbook, circa 1913

Sis Lori here:
I found this old cookbook recently and I love the colorful, old fashioned illustrations. It is also very informative.
"Every Woman's Home Cook Book, An Economical, Practical Guide for the Twentieth Century Housekeeper".
"Containing a most complete collection of the best culinary receipts with full instructions for successfully using them."

Cakes, etc.

Bread and rolls:

Ice creams and ice:

Desserts:

Candy making:

I am really impressed at all of the techniques and knowledge included within this vintage book.
For instance, in this baked bean recipe; it stresses using hot water throughout, 'cause cold water toughens beans. I did not know that. I wonder if Mom did, she loved a good baked bean recipe!

All in all, a great old recipe book to read through!

Some Recent Yard Sale And Thrift Finds

Just sharing some more recent finds today - a large cross-stitched horse picture, a nice stitchery pillow in pretty fall colors, two straw mats, and two more cookbooks for my Peter Pauper Press collection!
A small, but beautiful original painting, and a vintage Christmas card that happens to pair well with it!

Vintage matte white teddy bear planter, and a patchwork piece:
A lovely floral afghan that I thought could be mohair:
A Campbell Soup cookbook to sell, and a rather fabulous (teak, I think?) vintage memo pad holder with enameled copper top. It fits my Post-It pad perfectly:

And a pretty cool-looking gourd-shaped hanging planter complete with it's original macrame holder:

Groovy, huh?

Found : Great Books For Halloween

I have found a few books at thrift stores and the Waste Management store lately that will be perfect to add to my little Halloween bookshelf. Alfred Hitchcock's Daring Detectives has some appropriately spooky illustrations by Arthur Shilstone inside, like the one you see above. Haunted house tour, anyone?
This copy of "The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase" by Joan Aiken, from 1962, caught my eye. I considered it an extra bonus that the artwork on the dust jacket is by Edward Gorey! I can't see nor hear his name without being reminded of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS - I LOVE the series! I have been thoroughly enjoying the Inspector Lewis episodes lately.

I'm always happy to add another "old" (1964) Scholastic book to my collection, like "Mystery Of The Silent Friends", by Robin Gottlieb:

And I think "Howling Mad" kind of speaks for itself:

I don't think I paid more than a quarter for any of these.
You know me - I cannot resist books!

Models From The 70's - Cybill Shepherd

Here's my latest installment in my "Models" series, the beautiful Cybill Shepherd.
First up, Cybill for Lady Clairol, 1970

This next picture is from an ad for One-A-Day Vitamins, 1969:

Noxzema, 1970:

Revlon, also 1970:

Revlon, 1972:

And here she is in an ad for Wells Jewelry:

You can certainly see why so many advertisers wanted her! What a gorgeous face!
(As is the case nearly always, all of these pictures are from the vintage Seventeen magazines in my own collection.)

A Rival For Her Affections

Do you remember my story about Klara and George?
Well, I hesitate to share this with you, but it appears that the arrival of a new gentleman in the village may be cause for concern.
Meet Colonel Mustard:
He IS rather a handsome devil, and he has been showing Klara a great deal of attention as of late.
We are not entirely certain as to what his intentions may be, and while we have always assumed that Klara's allegiance to George was very strong, well - women CAN be fickle, you know......
Captain George, while always appearing to be ever stoical......
..is believed, in some circles, to actually be a bit worried over this latest turn of events:

We will let you know what we can as the situation develops.