Adventures in glass and Antiques, part 2

When we left the glass building, we walked over to Building C – the antiques building.  This wasn’t nearly as impressive and eye-wowing as the vintage glass with all its sparkle and color.  There were 20-odd vendors all pretty much local (as in greater Houston), well except for the one from Hattiesburg, MS.  Wasn’t any furniture – I can understand that – hard to transport.  I took pictures of some few items that caught my attention - some fairly common, some unusual, some just weird and some not really very old.

Elvis – still loving us Tender

They’re probably from the early 1990’s – sorry, that doesn’t even rate as vintage.  Still, I guess Elvis would be considered vintage if he was still with us.

  

Beaded and Mesh evening bags.  Normally I like vintage beaded or mesh bags but I’d guess these are more modern than vintage – the ending edge of 1960 through the 1980’s although there were a couple of nice but plain Mandalian mesh bags.

  

A Sterling Automatic Adding Machine aka The 1950s Calculator.  Unusual.

  

Have to say – I’ve never seen Texas money – a Texas redback.  So, just in case you want to know –

In the early days of Texas, a variety of currencies served as cash, including Spanish and Mexican money, bank notes from various U.S. states, and currency issued by private companies (call shinplasters). The Republic of Texas first issued paper money in 1837. This currency was called "star money" for the small star on the face of the bill. The star money was not face value currency, but rather interest-bearing notes (similar to a treasury bill) that circulated by being endorsed over to the next payee. In 1838, Texas issued change notes with elaborate designs on the front and blank backs.  The so-called Texas "redbacks" were issued in 1839. The government printed over two million dollars in redbacks, which were initially worth about 37 cents to a U.S. dollar.

  

Very cute hand puppets.  They stirred up a memory – I’m thinking we had some similar to these when we were small children.  I’ll have to ask my sister.

Yes, a sink – maybe from the 1950s.  Actually – I have one (white, not blue) in my back yard filled with plants.  Found it set out for the trash. 

From a personal point of view, the antiques portion was disappointing though I will say that I tend to look at “antique shows” with a bit of a jaundiced eye.  (Comes from managing a local antique store for many years – a really, truly antique store – with antiques.)  I was surprised to find no vintage jewelry – lots of the cheap silver-like modern stuff but nothing like, say, this –

Juliana - topaz and green rhinestones.

The prices on the things displayed were, I thought, high and I’d be surprised if any of the vendors made enough to cover their expenses.  I overheard one vendor commenting on the lack of attendance.  Yes, I suspect many shows and shops are experiencing that – antiques seem to have gone out of favor with coming generations.  I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a potential 40-ish customer some years back. 

Sez she – Do you have any bookcases?  Rely I – yes (and showed her two - oak, cabinet style, circa 1890, with glass doors, about $500 each).  Whoa, sez she, this is expensive.  I just want something for my daughter to take to college.  For heavens sake, this is just used furniture.  Big sigh, yes, reply I, but it is furniture with a provenance.  Perhaps I can direct you to one of the resale shops. 

Still, it was a very nice and enjoyable day out and afterward we went for lunch  to Another Time Soda Fountain where you can get shakes, malts, ice cream sodas, real fountain cokes, phosphates and the Blue Plate Special .

,

20 Aug 2019

Adventures in Glass

This past weekend, my friend Bobby and I attended the 45^th Annual Vintage Glass & Antique Show and Sale held by the Houston Glass Club.  It was held in Rosenberg at the fairgrounds in two large air-conditioned (thank god) buildings.

The goal of the club - To provide information on the history of the various patterns of collectible glass and pottery; exchange knowledge of glass; standardize nomenclature and methods for identification and aid in the preservation of glassware.

There were 30 dealers, some from as close as Houston and others as far as Minnesota.  And, they showed some of the prettiest depression era glass, EAPG (Early American Patterned Glass), American crystal, American dinnerware, kitchenware, and pottery I’ve seen.  And, boy-o-boy, these people know how to showcase their glass.  There was not one spec of dust on anything.  Lots of light made it all sparkle.  There was the usual and the unusual (and I had a hard time choosing which pictures to include, let me tell you!)

This was one of the prettiest displays with the pink, green and clear glass all intermingled together.

When I grow up, I want all my kitchenware and everyday dishes to be Jadeite.  It’s a pretty green milk glass that was popular in the 1930’s.  It was meant to be regular, utilitarian dishware for the everyday kitchen and you can find mixing bowls, cannisters, juicers and such along with plates, glasses, cups and so forth.  The green color was added to existing glass formulas in order to add a bit of color to people’s lives during the Depression.  It was American-made from one of three major companies: McKee, Jeannette, and Anchor Hocking.  I do have a few pieces of Anchor-Hocking I love.

These were some of the prettiest pieces –

Can you guess what these are?  They’re Pickle Castors.  In Victorian days, Pickle Castors were a common table accessory.  Silver plated castors with glass inserts were used to display and serve small pickles and relishes.

Carnival Glass is a molded or pressed glass with a luster that resembles the rainbow effect that you see when oil is poured on water.  The effect is achieved by spraying the hot surface of the glass with a metallic salt solution and then re-firing to set the iridescence.  It has been known by many other names in the past: aurora glass, dope glass, rainbow glass, taffeta glass, and 'poor man's Tiffany'.  Its current name was adopted in the late 1940’s from the fact that it was given as prizes at carnivals, fetes, and fairgrounds.

Then, there was the unusual

Nothing like seeing Pink Elephants before you start drinking!

These are Cambridge Nude Stems. The Cambridge Glass Company in Cambridge Ohio made these nude stems, Statuesque, in early 1930.  All of the stemware featured the same girl in the same pose, with hair tossed to her right side.  Just a little kinky …..

This is yellow Vaseline Glass.  Also known as uranium glass, Vaseline glass glows green under ultraviolet light, thanks to the uranium oxide added to the glass in its molten state.  In natural or indoor light, Vaseline glass has a yellow or yellow-green tinge with an oily sheen, which is where its name comes from.  Uranium oxide was first used as a coloring agent in the 1830s.  It was produced from the 1840s through World War I.  A variety of companies produced it, including Adams & Co., Steuben Glass, Cambridge Glass Co., and Baccarat, which released its first Vaseline glass piece in 1843 under the name “cristal dichroide.”

There really wasn’t a great deal of vintage pottery.  Some Roseville and Weller and I love the little elephant!

So, since I’ve already put up a bunch of pictures, I’ll wait until tomorrow for the antique show.

19 Aug 2019

Odds and Ends

  

Many years ago (like back in the 1970’s), I read a trilogy – The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson. 

Thomas Covenant, an embittered (and, from my memory, embittered is just not a strong enough word) and cynical writer, afflicted with leprosy and shunned by society, is fated to become the heroic savior of The Land, an alternate world. In the novels, he struggles against the satanic Lord Foul, "The Despiser", who intends to escape the bondage of the physical universe and wreak revenge upon his arch-enemy, "The Creator".  (He struggles with himself – a lot - and with everyone else it seemed to me.)

Donaldson did go on to write seven more Thomas Covenant books though I never read them.  I didn’t because the first three affected me so negatively.  It was hard to read doom and gloom on every page.  Possibly, if I reread them today, my older adult self wouldn’t be so affected …. possibly I would.

Yeah, yeah – so why mention it now, you ask.  Because I’ve just finished another trilogy that affected me similarly.  The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.  I understand it’s also a TV series though I’ve not watched it.  I’ll say now, it was a hard three books for me to read.  About half way through the second book, I was ready for the story to be over.

It’s about a virus.  A virus that comes to the US via an airplane landing at JFK … a plane stopped in the middle of the runway for no apparent reason, all lights off, all doors sealed, all window shades down. No one can be raised – not passengers, attendants or pilots.  The CDC is called in - a Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team of doctors and scientists trying to establish the cause and then, a cure for the virus.  By the second book, humans are no longer at the top of the food chain and finally know they are not the consumer, but the consumed.  Goodweather along with Nora Martinez, another surviving member of his original team, Professor Setrakian, a Nazi concentration camp survivor, Vasilly Fet, a killer of sorts, and several gang bangers form an alliance to try to survive and somehow overcome the infection.  By the third book, the world, as we know it, has ended.  Doom, gloom, defeat, no end in sight, enslavement, human cruelty to humans.  The actual ending surprised (maybe disappointed) me.  It will depend on your belief system as to how you might react. 

Obviously these two trilogies have nothing in common except they are science fiction/fantasy.  But, both affected me similarly.  I am ready for light and fluffy now!

Yesterday was ESTATE SALE THURSDAY.  And, Ellen and I set off for one that had been described to me as the home of a “hoarder supreme”.  The house itself was really small.  It was overcrowded with a dozen people inside.  There really wasn’t very much variety in items.  There were …

yepper doodle.  Skunks.  All types (including one with a Hitler head).  This is one shelf of a six-shelf bookcase.  All shelves were similarly stuffed with skunks.  Then, there was another pile of them in another room and still more in a glass fronted cabinet. 

And, there was a whole room – a room with big, long tables and shelves – full of

yep again, cameras and camera paraphernalia.  Prices were not outrageous ($20 - $30) but there was no guarantee any of them worked either.  And, they all required film of one sort or another.

Then there was, glassware –

covered or not cake dishes (at least six I saw), covered compotes, candy dishes, serving pieces, glasses.  All brightly colored. 

Finally, there were a slew of miniature metal things – like a coffee grinder and fan and phonograph and microscope and sewing machine

and a typewriter.

I was told a second one would be held next weekend because “the garage is filled to the ceiling”.  So, I’ll let you know.

A friend sent me this picture – look familiar, sez he.

Ohmideargod, yes.  Could have been taken in my bathroom – a couple of times, except my paper shredders can unroll and spread out more t-paper.

Now long ago, while walking I spotted

Barn Swallow nests.  Pretty cool, I thought.  However, next time I was there, they had all been knocked down and washed away.  Too bad.

Today is the birthday of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, born in 1798; died in 1859; lawyer, politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier.  He was a private before the Battle of San Jacinto (deciding battle in the Texas Revolution).  He was a colonel when it ended.  Ten days later he was secretary of war.  A month later he was commander in chief or the army.  In five more months, he was the vice president and in less than two years, he was president of the Republic of Texas. 

 Beautiful in death

The soldier’s corpse appears,

Embalmed by fond affection’s breath

And bathed in his country’s tears.

Lo, the battle forms

Its terrible array,

Like clashing clouds in mountain storms

That thunder on their way.

It is the name of the high school in Houston I attended, (as did my sister and in 1939, my mother) which is why it caught my attention.

It is still hot outside.  The weatherperson teased us by saying we had a good chance of rain yesterday and today.  Ha!  Nada, not a drop, no dark clouds.  I may not have to mow again anytime soon as the grass is dying – fine, it comes back like all weeds.

I am dreaming of this

Autumn – Fall – Cool Days when you need a light jacket or sweater.  Of course the trees here never look like this but I did say I was dreaming.

16 Aug 2019

Brain power

I think the heat has cooked my brain.  Writing, which is usually an enjoyable thing, has become difficult (which is why I’ve been so quiet lately).  All I can do these days is stay in from the outside after 7am.  Not very much exciting happening inside.  And, in fact, I am suffering a bit from cabin fever, however it’s terrible, awful, dreadful, abysmal out there.

Today the temperature is going to be 99° and (oh joy), 100° tomorrow.  When I spoke with granddaughter #1 (who lives in San Antonio), her response was – “ack! That means it will be 112° here!”  Probably so – poor baby.

Day	Description	High / Low	Humidity
Today Aug 12	HOT	99° / 76°	50%
Tue Aug 13	HOTTER THAN HELL	100° / 77°	57%
Wed Aug 14	Just hot	99° / 76°	57%
Thu Aug 15	Oh WOW! Cold Front!	94° / 75°	63%
Fri Aug 16	aannnd, the humidity is back.	94° / 75°	64%

Yes, yes – whining going on here.

Last trip to the store, I bought bananas.  Which is weird for me because, I really don’t care too much for bananas. 

They always look good but, they always taste like --- well, bananas.  I did eat a couple – two and remembered that I just don’t like them.  Then, they got really ripe.  And I pulled out my banana bread recipe. 

And, while waiting for the bread to bake, I looked up some things about bananas.

So, here’s a Did You Know?  While banana trees are one of the common trees that come to mind when dreaming of the tropics, they’re not really a tree.  They are really a very large herb.  The trunk is composed of the main fruiting stem surrounded by leaves. 

Plants come in a wide range of sizes from "Truly Tiny" which gets only about 1.5 feet tall, to "Cuban Red" growing up to 25 feet tall.  They lend themselves well to container growing although for regular sized plants, you’ll need a large container (15 or so gallons). 

Here, they’re pretty easy to grow in the ground.  Banana trees like heat and humidity (we have plenty of both).  They need a lot of water and grow best planted in groups (protection of the masses against extremes in temperature and wind).  They will freeze during a cold snap but come back in the spring.  They like fertilizer with a high potassium number (third number on the fertilizer box, bottle – NPK – Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) and do best when fertilized regularly.

OK, so here’s another Did You Know?  Bananas are classified as a berry because the fruit actually comes from the female flowers.  Banana seeds are not fertile so the best propagation is through division. To divide banana plants, separate the sucker or pup (after it’s about 3 feet tall and has a few roots) from the rhizome using a very sharp spade and quite a bit of strength.  When we lived in the house in the country, I asked my neighbor if I could dig up a small one from her huge grove.  Oh yes – and god help you, was the response.  Right – god, Michael, and a good sharpshooter. 

While the fruit contains many health benefits (a healthy source of fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and various antioxidants and phytonutrients), the leaves also have many uses. The leaves are high in antioxidants, cure sore throat, reduce fever, boosts the immune system, used in the treatment of dysentery, heals wounds and skin irritation.  Like any herb, it can be used in a tea or tisane; can be used fresh or dried although dried is more often used in teas.  In addition to health benefits, the leaf extract has been used to cure dandruff and help maintain a healthy scalp.  A “leaf mask” can be used to promote healthy skin (crush leaf and apply to face and body).  The allantoin and antioxidants help prevent early aging signs such as wrinkles and dark spots, helps with skin irritation, helps reduce acne and pimples, and keep the skin moist and soft.

Also, banana peels are a rich source of potassium, phosphorus, and calcium, along with a number of other minerals your plants need – compost pile.  A good friend told me she fertilizes her staghorn fern by putting a banana peel in amongst the fronds. 

Use bananas for:  Bananas Foster, cut up for a topping on pancakes, French toast, or in salads, breads and muffins, pudding, pie, cheesecake.  Use the leaf as a sort of bbq mat to keep fish, shrimp or vegetables from falling through the grill.  Be exotic and use a leaf as a plate for salad, rice, fish or finger foods.  Try wrapping up some chicken, fish or seafood, or other meats in banana leaf and baking them in the oven.  I saw this recipe which on many levels does not appeal to me but for children of all ages – Frozen Banana Cereal Pops - dip bananas in yogurt, roll in cereal, then freeze. 

 Finally, plant a banana tree around your house in order to inspire good luck and prosperity in your household. 

And there goes the timer.  I made two loaves – have to find someone to share this with!

12 Aug 2019

Cat tales and other things

This past week has been “mow the grass” week.  Everyone knows how I feel about mowing.  However, hot and dry as it is, the grass continues to grow.  And, so, for the past four mornings, at 630am, I have dragged out the electric cord, the little mower, and plowed through the yard.  About an hour per session is my limit in the current heat and humidity.

Okay, there is a good thing to mowing – I get all kinds of exercise.  I walk about 2-3 miles (you know, back and forth, back and forth), my heart reaches cardio and fat burning (yay) levels, and surely, I sweat off pounds and pounds – okay, ounces and ounces.

It has been so hot lately I’ve divided the backyard into thirds plus the front makes four days of mowing.  Thank god it’s done for at least another ten days or so.

Unfortunately, mowing days are pretty much useless for anything else days.  I turn into a potato and sit for a good long time – like until bedtime. 

Cat Tales #1

The Demon Duo are doing well.  When I wash my face at night, one or both sit on the edge of the sink waiting to play in the water.  Fine, I indulge them for a minute or two.  

Monday night, I washed face, turned off the water and light and went into the bedroom.  A few minutes later I came out to find the hallway littered with bits of white stuff.  What the . . .  Followed the trail of white bits to the bathroom.  There, oh what to my wondering eyes did I behold?  Tissues!  Tissues all over the floor with two kittens tumbling around them.  Seems that Daryl discovered the Kleenex box, reached a clawed paw into said box and pulled out a big bunch of tissues.  Which he promptly dropped on the floor.  Aarggh!  I started picking up shredded tissues and Zack (my sweet kitty that loves to be held and purrs anytime someone picks him up) grabbed a bunch of tissues to his chest, gave me the evil eye, and tried out a “hisss”.  Sigh

Remember earlier I said August is National Read a Romance Novel Month?  I just finished reading Festive in Death (In Death series #39) by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts).  Actually, I’ve read several of the “in death” books.  The books are set 60-odd years in the future and revolve around NYPSD cop, Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband, Roark.  And, when they get to the monkey sex with heat and speed, ravishing mouths, and pumping and grinding, I tend to think, yeah, yeah, done that and skip onto the story again.  These books are entertaining, light and fluffy.  And, the story line is pretty good.  Of course, they are all pretty similar with a gruesome murder, solved by Dallas with the help of partner, Peabody, her husband Roark, and various other good guys, friends, etc in her world.

Today is International Cat Day.  It is a full 24 hours of recognition and veneration of one of humanity’s oldest and most beloved pets. An estimated 500 million cats are thought to be frolicking in gardens across the world, which means that most every extended family is bound to have an aunt with more kittens than former husbands, whatever the country or climate. And that’s great, because owning a cat has been shown to improve mental health and to relieve stress, anxiety and depression. So when it’s raining cats and dogs outside and you don’t have someone to cuddle with, any black, ginger, Persian, Siamese, Burmese, Bengal, Shorthair, Munchkin, Balinese, Ragamuffin or any old stray cat will do the trick.

I read another blog called “Octoberfarm”.  It’s interesting and enjoyable.  I don’t know where the author lives but I’m thinking it’s somewhere in the way-the-heck-up-there-in-the-northlands.  I’ll bet she can see Santa’s house from her porch.  I say this because on August 1, she started talking about the soon to be there season of fall.  I’m not totally sure what that is because here in my part of Texas we have

Early Summer

Summer

Indian Summer

and

Hunting Season

She talks about nice days and cooler temps; I wish she’d send some of it down here.  We are in high summer.  August is probably the hottest month of the year with September a very close second.  If we are lucky, it maybe, might, possibly will cool down to 90° by October.  And, except that my grass is shorter today, nothing much is happening in my yard.

The Mexican bird of paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana) is in full bloom.  I brought my first plant with me from Arizona and have planted many others grown from seeds.  They’re easy to grow, deal well with our sun and humidity, get to be 6’+ tall, and will bloom all summer.  While they’re likely to freeze in cold weather, they pop right back up from the root. 

The Senna (Senna hebecarpa syn. Cassia hebecarpa), a perennial herb, is also doing well.  It has struggled a bit since the 2017 flood but is now in full bloom.

The Chocolate Plant (Pseuderanthemum alata) is also doing well.  These are a heirloom plant in Texas and other parts of the South.  They’re almost never found in catalogs or nurseries being that they are pass-alongs.  I got mine from a very close friend.  They do best in shade or part sun and can be just a tiny bit invasive.  They will freeze back in winter but reappear in late spring/early summer. 

Cat Tale #2

I bought the Demon Duo (not that I spoil them) a new toy the other day.  It’s a ball with a grate-like surface and a little mouse inside.  When rolled across the floor, it squeaks.  Got it home and removed all the tags and labels, including the tab that activates the battery to the squeaker. 

Rolled it across the floor.  Nothing.  Hmmm.  Picked it up and gave it a little shake.  Roll – nothing again.  Grrrrrr.  Gave it a big shake.  Nada.  FINE!  Picked it up, got all the tags and labels and put the whole mess into the car with the receipt.  I’m not paying $5 for a toy that’s broken from the get-go. 

Today I had errands to run (library, post office, city hall) and decided to run by the store and return the damn toy.  Backed the car out of the driveway and heard “chirp, chirp” rather like a cricket.  Hmmmm

Ok – Pam Rule – my car sleeps in the garage.  Always been my rule.  Garage? My car gets it.  These days Daryl and Zack spend a good portion of the day playing in the garage (they’re not allowed outside).  Lately, they’ve discovered the car and have been climbing into the front grill and god only knows where from there.  I’m fearful they’ll get stuck and I have no idea how to open the hood.

So, when this chirping noise started, my first thought was they had managed to unplug something and the car was demanding help.  This makes perfect sense to me as I firmly believe cars have a mind of their own and are apt of misbehave just because they can. 

Chirp, chirpchirpchirpchirp, chirp.

So while stopped at a light, I tried to determine where the chirp was coming from and did I need to stop at the mechanics.  Didn’t sound like under the hood.  Sounded like ……… inside ..... the  ..... car……………..  Yep, it was the toy.  Somehow it finally got activated and every time the car moved, it chirped.

So I brought it home.  The boys? – they chase it all over the floor and chirp back at it.

8 Aug 2019

Oh-my-dear-god – it’s August – ALREADY!

The days are just zipping past.  You know, of course, it’s going to be Halloween, Thanksgiving, and (ohmigod) Christmas in a blink. 

So, August – what fun is going to happen in August?  Good thing/bad thing - depending on who you are, where you are, and what you are - children of all ages will be returning to school.  Watch out for those school zone signs – they’re about to get real again.

Also, it’s

American Adventures Month   Experience the Americas by exploring South, Central, and North America.  Plan your next adventure.   Start small by visiting some of the little towns around you.  I recently went adventuring to Danbury where we found a really good, old fashioned café. 

American Artists Appreciation Month   My sister is an artist.  I appreciate her beautiful and unique art and I appreciate her. (http://www.emstudioglass.com/)

National Crayon Collection Month   By collecting gently-used crayons from kid-friendly restaurants and hotels we intervene in a cycle of waste that has existed for decades. This community-based collection effort supports the environment by redirecting still good crayons to teachers instead of landfills.  Good idea!

National Read A Romance Novel Month   In honor of the steamy month of August, treat yourself or challenge yourself to try something new and pick up a romance novel.  (you know – fun brain candy)

(This is a good one --)

National Win with Civility Month   August, National Win with Civility Month, gives us the opportunity to discuss everyday occurrences where being civil can help us take control of a potentially messy situation and keep things…well, civil. It could be sharing your new book with your significant other instead of starting an argument. Or it could be taking a few deep breaths to keep your composure when you’re starting to show signs of road rage.  Yep, it could also include think-before-you-open-your-mouth or make-rude-hand-gestures.

Today is Lughnasadh or Lammas.  It’s the first of the harvest celebrations and traditionally is held on 1 August, or about halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.  And, it’s a signal that the bright days of summer will soon end.  (yeah, ok, I’m ready for that.)

There are a variety of things you can do to celebrate.  One way to celebration is the trial marriage ceremony: for this day only, by joining hands with your beloved through a hole in a wooden door and exchanging vows and gifts, you would be married for just one year and one day.  At the next Lughnasadh, if you don’t want to be married anymore, you can just call it off without consequences. 

Another - harvest and plant seeds from your garden for next year.  If they sprout, grow the plant or tree with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Lord and Lady.

Have a small bonfire, then sacrifice bad habits and unwanted things from your life by throwing symbols of them into the fire.

Bake some bread.  This is what I’m going to do.  I’ve used this recipe for years and it makes a good and easy soda bread.

SCOTTISH LAMMAS BREAD

1 lb all-purpose flour (2 cups) – I usually add a bit more flour but not too much

Salt to taste

½ tsp cream of tartar

½ tsp baking soda

½ pint milk (1 cup)

1 tbl vinegar

Place the flour in a large bowl and add salt, cream of tartar and baking soda.  Pour the milk into another bowl and add in the vinegar.  Then add the milk mixture to the flour mixture a little bit at a time.  Mix to a stiff dough then turn out on a floured surface and knead a bit.  Shape into a fine, round lump.  Score the top and bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 35-40 minutes.  If you want a sweeter bread, add sugar and maybe some dried fruit.

1 Aug 2019