...'HAVE FUN'

My heart hasn't really been into it this weekend, but these two Coconut Heads (yes, newer; $1 for pair) followed me home on Friday and made me smile.

I also stopped at a small greenhouse to pick up some Basil (been craving pesto in a BIG Way), and to check out what they had along the lines of 'different herbies. Their herbs all looked great and they had FIVE different kinds of Basil!!!

...ALOHA!? ...¡Hola! ?!

Monday was spent finishing a few last touches to The "Hawaiian Porch of '09 ". Our main problem is that neither of us has been to any of the Hawaiian Islands! I'm afraid the porch is a rather schizo confusion of Mexican, Spanish and Hawaiian!! I don't know the difference between a TIKI, an Incan Icon, a tribal Warrior, Mayan Ruin and a Polynesian Kahuna! I guess that we will just have to kick up our 'umbrella drinks' a notch, then ((maybe)) nobody else will notice!!


~a cheapie grass skirt (found at a Garage Sale for .25¢) 'dresses-up' a curbside stand~

...and...

This 'surf board' that I picked up last Fall...

~now resides on the wall above the 'grass skirt stand'!~

You may remember this BOX. With a little graphic inspiration from a 1966 booklet HAWAII'S FLOWERS, PLANTS AND FRUITS /Marie C. Neal of B.P. Bishop Museum (mahalo to Shara)... It has a new look on life! I pulled some leftover paints from the basement for the base coat, added wheeled casters from my Dad's shop, painted freehand, vibrant graphics on the top using my stash of craft paints, quick clear coat, and voila'! Porch-ready side table/ moveable stool - complete w/ storage!!

Okay... we're ready!

...don't you just LOVE IT when...

Sunday morning we left the house at 5:15am for the days adventures... Spurr of the moment 'Roadtrip to my parents house"!
We planned our path to cross with The Avon Flea. I only get to this one once or twice a summer, so it was a HAPPY DAY - Especially when I spotted this, sitting right out in the open on a table...

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you know that I have been in search of a deck of Tarot Cards for a few years. ~I was almost to the breaking point of just buying a 'new' deck!~ THIS DECK is perfect - doesn't look to have ever been used, complete, dated 1961, and only 50¢ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There were LOTS of goodies to look at, wonder about and drool over. What came home with us other than the deck of cards was (were?)...

A turq/white Royal Haeger dish, an Ezra Brooks Liquer Decanter (Haeger?) and FOUR sweater clips. Oh, and a bag of golf tees for DH (not photo'd - imagine that.)

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN...

... You make a purchase, and the research ends up being almost as much fun as the purchase?!

The Sweater clip to the bottom of the photo has a pendant on it - round with a seed in it. I have seen these in different pieces of vintage jewelry before, and now that I owned one, I wanted to know what kind of seed it is... Here's what I found: MUSTARD SEED BUBBLE CHARM !

The EZRA BROOKS decanter that we were in hopes of having been done by HAEGER:

DH & I spent LOTS of time Sunday night looking for info about the decanters made by HAEGER - both on the computer and in our stack of Royal Haeger books ... not much to be found, BUT...

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN...

You find out that something you purchased just because 'it spoke to you' or 'you adored it' was actually by a designer that you admire?!

As we were scouring the Haeger books...

DH: (pointing to a photo) "Hey, this almost looks like that one you have on the porch table..."

Me: (looking closely) "It is!!"

***Remember this purchase from 9/08, which has been stored away in the attic, awaiting it's appearance on the 'Hawaiian Porch'?? Turns out he is a 1950's piece by Royal Haeger -HAWAIIAN STUD is actually NATURE BOY! ***

While at my parents, there was rhubarb to be had - which later resulted in THIS Raspberry-Rhubarb pie...

The journey home, HAD to include a stop by one of my favorite SEA GLASS beaches. Love 'new' fuel to keep me a practicing my soldering!!

GOOD TIMES.

...LET THE FUN & GAMES BEGIN!

I have been a delinquent blogger... funny how warm weather tends to makes us "vacate the virtual world for the real world" - which is a GOOD thing in my opinion!!

So, what have I been up to in 'my' real world?

• The sale was a HUGE success (though, NO vases of cut flowers sold!!) ... six boxes were shipped off for a local church Rummage sale, leaving two for me to take to a consignment shop. That's it. ALL GONE!!
• The porch (in all of it's Hawaiian stylin') is ready for the partaking of drinks with little umbrellas!
• Our salmon Iris have finally blossomed!
• I have started 're-shelling' the stump in the flower bed (I had this completed a couple of summers ago... but then the bark started peeling off, now it is time to start over - no bark this time!!)
• 'REBECCA of the garden' has had her yearly 'concrete patching', 'new tubing', 'fresh paint' and is all decked out with fresh plants - WOW! talk about a 'high maintenance' girl!!
• I'm sure you are all a little concerned by now at my lack of 'stuffing it' (I think DH was even a bit worried about me - 2 weeks - NOTHING!!).... Rest assured, I was out bright and early Saturday morning!! The lure was a 'Street Wide Sale' and a 'Community Sale' . HA! Somebody needs to inform these people, that 'Two sales does not a Street Wide/Community make!'. Luckily, enroute I stumbled upon a Church Youth group having a sale at a private residence, just as they were opening!!

WICKER & GLASS & SILVER... (sombrero, Austrian Airline glass, 2 small Swanky Swigs (??), dark amethyst glass jar with tin deco cover and a carving set...

PLASTIC & POTTERY...

(ghost blow mold, Rumrill vase, 2 vintage sporting mugs, unmarked Shawnee-like pottery, NH studio pottery dish, glass fish ornament, yellow plant pot)

GAS MONEY...

(TWO!! Starbucks Mugs - been having very good luck with anything Starbucks on E-bay lately!!)

ALL of this 'stuff-goodness' for slightly over $2. - !! (yes, I gave them the $3, and told them to keep the change - generous person that I am...).

Hope everyone is having a great Holiday!!

...fly! ...be free!!

While our gardens are looking like this...

Many areas in our house (and on the porch!!) are looking like this...((BIG SIGH))

Yes. We are preparing to give LOTS of our 'stuff' wings. It is time for another Release Program (aka: garage sale.). (*I CANNOT take credit for this term! Please check out YARD SALE BLOODBATH for it's origins!!)Nothing is safe! As I've been 'taming' the flower beds, little samplings have been potted and labeled, ready for inclusion in the Mighty Release...MANY, MANY loads of 'stuff' has been sorted and hauled down from the attic...Amidst the cleaning and purging, I came up with an idea.... I don't know if it will 'fly' with 'salers' or not... I'm going to cut bouquets of live flowers, put in miscellaneous vases (of which, I have NUMEROUS Variations boxed to go!!) and price for a couple of dollars (vase included of course!!). What do you think? Will it help me get rid of the vases??

Here are a couple of samples of what they might look like... (in old shot glass!!)

(in floral vase)

Okay, times up for blogging. Parents are coming to town to join in on the fun... so I must clean, bake, get groceries, do laundry....

...The Fifth of May

HAPPY CINCO de MAYO!!

(courtesy of Pedro...a recent marionette acquisitions, celebrating our first Cinco de Mayo together!!)

...the days we thrive on.

Friday morning (MAY DAY!!) I was out early - with a mission! By noon they were predicting rain and storms, so I knew there was precious little time - AND - there was a 'real' Estate Sale and a Rummage sale both starting at 9am... What to do, What to do? This particular RS is always a 'by the clock' opening, so I took my chance the estate sale may open early. When I got there at 8:30, it was open, and lots of goodies were already walking down the sidewalk... My heart raced as I descended to the basement, and from the other end I saw it... A MORRIS CHAIR! !! I have been coveting these for years, but I REALLY DON'T NEED it, and I'm too cheap to pay the couple of hundred that they usually go for at auctions. This one was Great - recliner spindle intact, original cushions, original finish to wood... $5.00! Oh, one problem... SOLD. Bummer! I did have an armful of 'treasures' when I checked out, which eased 'the pain' slightly. When I said that this was a 'real' ES, I meant that the parents/owners' of the house had both died and the kids/nieces/grandkids were holding the sale, and just wanted the stuff GONE - cheap! Look what I came away with for $3.10~

KEEPERS: A couple of 'wicker' cups, two William Sonoma spatulas, one of my beloved confetti bowls, a large Infant of Prague statuary, fake Nantucket basket, the Large scarf in the background, as well as a box of over 50 retro scarves that included FOUR VERA (which I forgot to photograph), and...

FOR ME: Mexico SS pin, glove clip, sweater clip, and...

RELEASE PROGRAM: two spoon rests, 1960's Snoopy bank, Spaghetti trim Xmas bell, McCoy car planter, Xmas S/P. (*The pink SALADA TEApot was my only purchase at the latter Rummage Sale for $1.) Included (and, again Not Photographed) in the ES haul was a .75¢ box of 18 OLD 'wire bail' quart canning jars. A friends' father grows tons of gorgeous flowers, and makes bouquets to sell at a local market weekly. He uses the jars as vases. They have already been delivered, and he was THRILLED with this clean boxful!!

It never did rain Friday afternoon. But it poured that night, and was predicted to extend through Saturday morning. I awoke Sat. morning to bright sunny skies... YIPPEE, 'cause it was the annual Lake Ave Street Sale day!! I have never found much of anything exciting during this sale, but it is kind of a 'Rite of Spring'... This is one of the few Saturday mornings that DH joins me saling. We walk the entire length of it (close to a mile long), chatting and enjoying the blossoming gardens of the 'Nice' homes enroute. It is a long standing joke that I usually find better stuff in the FREE boxes at this sale, than on the tables!! This year was no exception!

Santa apron & santa figure (2/.25¢), ceramic match safe for a friend's collection, New Shower curtain liner - can always use a fresh one of these (.50¢), and from the FREE boxes : sealed Yankee Candle votif, vintage nesting chicken covered dish, vintage handblown green cruet and an ancient white glass tri-lobal dish!! BUT, my favorite buy of the morning for a quarter....

This child sized antique accordion!! Still kinda works! How Fun is That??!? Not to mention that my Mom played the accordion (which she still has!) and will enjoy this!

The saling was topped off by breakfast at a corner diner, them home by 11:30am!

The temp was in the 60's, Sunny, clear skies, no wind... the gardens were a calling... The afternoon was spent turning the veggie garden, repainting birdbaths and weeding. It was WONDERFUL!! After a l-o-n-g winter, I so look forward to these mundane tasks! How do you warm weather gardeners keep motivated??

...Knock! KNOCK!

HAPPY MAY DAY!!It seriously made my 'May Day' to find this great VERA with a field of Dandelions this morning($1) !!

(LOTS of other Good Stuff this morning, but that shall wait for another day!)