Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New Friends at Vintage Gathering

I made Kristin pose, telling her she looked like a pin-up girl, lol.

Chantel even came with us this time, although she would probably rather ride her horse or something else.




Isn't Kristin's car cool?
What a wonderful weekend I had with my daughters taking part in the Vintage Gatherings flea market in Battleground! We baked a lot of stuff ( raspberry and marionberry coffee cakes, the Finnish Cardamom Bread, caramel corn, strawberry and apricot bars, and Swiss Bratzeli cookies) and took it up, didn't take much vintage stuff this time, but next time, we definitely will!
Lisa, at Uncovered Ruby was great with getting us involved; gosh, she even set up our tent, b/c there was no way I'd get there on Friday to set up due to the fact that I bake to the last minute. Thanks for all your help Lisa, and we DEFINITELY want to spend some time getting to know you better!
I took a lot of photos, and there was so much cool stuff, I could hardly take a bad picture, though I'm pretty good at that! Forgive my jumbled photos, they won't be in order with what I'm blogging about probably. I need to spend some serious time figuring out blogspot and how I can work with the photos better. It drives me crazy trying to move pictures around on my blog.
I loved everything about this show, but there are a few things that stand out BIG!!!
1) I met some really nice people! The vendors were all so friendly, I don't know if I've ever done something like this with a group where EVERYONE went out of their way to welcome us and be so friendly. Laid back, too! I liked that. Here we are on a gorgeous farm setting, everyone's having a good time, tons of stuff going home with customers, it was just great. I finally got to meet my blogging friend, Florence, too. And Monica, it was great to see her again. She's a loyal cardamom bread addict lol.
2)Like I said, it was a friendly group, and Kathy is a very hospitable hostess! I kinda wanted to sneak and take some pictures of what I could see of her home as I went in to use her restroom and get a cup of coffee in the kitchen. It smelled so good in her house, too, with candles everywhere! Her covered porch was a place we made good use off, in shifts (my daughters and I) I wondered at first where Kristin had gone for the longest time....she was taking a nap on her porch! Well, I had my turn later in the afternoon. I had gotten 2 1/2 hours of sleep, due to the stupid computer/printer/program problems I was having for my labels the night before. Kathy also had a huge, I mean HUGE apple tree that I spent a lot of glances looking up at, thinking YUM! Huge, gorgeous apples! Anyway, thanks Kathy for your hospitality!
3) Something I have spent days soaking in, pondering on, taking in......
There was a mom, probably in her 30s I'd say, with a little girl, probably under 10, shopping with her father and mother. There was just something about them that touched me. They were at our tent, looking at my Finnish Cardamom bread, and they were mentioning Challah bread, kinda comparing recipes, what type of bread Challah was. Being inquisitive, I asked if they were Jewish. The mom said she was, I asked if there was a synagogue near here that she went to, and she said, actually, my husband is Jewish, and they were Messianic Jews. Well, that started a great conversation in itself. but the thing that totally kind of mesmerized me (I know, I'm always spacing like this) was how they were as a family, as people. There was just this peace I felt. The father was just so friendly, and so encouraging. After they left, I kept watching them, feeling just "blessed" somehow. In a little while, I saw the little girl packing out this hamper that was almost as big as she was, the mom was laughing, telling her dad "she got a hamper!", the grandpa and grandma were smiling, kinda touching her with affirmation without actually touching her, saying, "you got yourself a hamper". You would have thought she got a doll, or a bike, but no, it was a hamper. They just had this thankfulness about them.
As they were walking away, I told Kristin I was going to go after them and ask them to adopt me. Somehow, they had blessed me. I'm not sure if they knew they had, but I had this sense that God had done this, given me this euphoric, peaceful, content feeling, to just enjoy. I have not gotten over it yet, and I hope I don't for a long time!
Here's that little girl's hamper.
































I kept seeing Michelle, we'd visit, very nice person!











We were close to Lisa and Sally (Uncovered Ruby), had a lot of fun watching stuff fly out of their booth. Even more fun watching people trying to fit their finds into their car! By the way, they are having their show on October 3rd in Battleground, so put it on your calendar. We're going to be there, too!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Is Nostalgia a Feeling?


All afternoon, I whiled away the hours scanning vintage cards and vintage ads. I got these very cool cards from a recent new friend I met, Carla.at her shop "Jingle Bobs" in the Wallowa mountains. I actually got a ton of cards (thanks for the super deal Carla), Valentines, Christmas, all kinds. One box was all prototype cards by an artist who designed cards for Hallmark, and other places. Carla knows a lot more than I do about stuff like this, but I knew I loved them. Aren't they great? I think she sold me hundreds of them! If you're ever in her neighborhood, go visit her, she's awful nice!



Then I started scanning some old ads and magazine stuff. I think these ads are older than me, but I love the era. Why is vintage so popular do you think? I believe it's because we live in a too-fast-paced era and we long for a simpler life. I know we're "recycling", but I think it's more than that, I think it's got a lot to do with the feelings with get around old stuff, the memories they invoke.


I was born in 1959, so didn't actually grow up at all in the 50s, and was only 10 by the time the 60s gave out to the 70s. But between the Walton's, Little House on the Prairie (that my teacher read to us in 4th grade), stuff like that, my heart has always been attached to old stuff. Except maturity. I don't know if I'll ever grow up, lol.
I personaly think, too, that a Leave it to Beaver lifestyle would be pretty cool. I would never measure up to Mrs. Cleaver, but.....I can see myself as Lucy. Yes, my personality is more a Lucy than a Mrs. Clever.
ANYWAY, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted (by my own mind wandering), I love nostalgia! I love reading other people's nostalgic blogs. I love seeing what kinds of stuff people uncover. I get a cozy feeling, like I'm visiting my Grandma's house. So, I think it's an emotion.




It is pouring down rain here today, so much so, that it almost looks like snow. My grass will be green in no time! So much for all the work we were going to get done this weekend, since we didn't get to go anywhere. Goodness, as I'm typing, I'm wondering if I'm going to be heading into a Laura Ingalls day after all, it is downright blustery!
I need to head to Costco in the next day or two to get some baking supplies. I'm very excited to get to do some baking for the Vintage Gathering sale coming up this weekend. Check out Lisa's blog for the details. Baking is perfect for me, since I put everything off until the last minute anyway, the customer gets their bread as fresh as I can get it. So, Friday, I'll be baking up a storm, anxiously awaiting meeting my friends I haven't met yet at the Vintage Gathering. Barn House is having their sale, too, the same day, so it promises to be a pretty busy day. My daughters are coming to help me, which I love, and for me, that makes it all the more fun!
I think I finally get to meet Florence, from Essences of the Past. She and I keep finding things we have in common and hope to meet eventually, and I think this just may be the weekend. So, this will definitely be a busy week for me; I love busy!
Hope your fall is getting off to a great beginning!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

I Learn Something New Every Day!


I can never do a good job of peeling hard-boiled eggs, especially fresh ones. I just thought this was a very neat trick and I am going to have to give it a try.
How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs in Seconds

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If you haven't been to Mennonite Girls Can Cook's blog, you should really check it out. I have adopted their Rhubarb Platz, it is soooo yummy. I've actually gotten many good recipes from their blog and told other great cooks about it, too! MMMMmmmm, you won't be sorry!