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Just wanted to share a smattering of the treasures I thrifted today in San Jose...
The little wooden Japanese fisherman is about two inches tall; probably 1950s. The fabric is a silk Ikat; $1 for three yards! And the vintage candy tin is marked "Western Germany". I love the color.
After I regain my energy from the hunt I will photograph the mid-century dining set that I got. Incredibly incredible!
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One of my favorite elements of being a thrifter, treasure hunter, and digger is that it's always changing, always new. You can go to the same shop each week, but the inventory has completely changed for you to discover it all over again. Then taken to the next level, discovering new shops when you travel. Yippee! On my recent road trip through California and Oregon I was amazed that there are still great finds at amazing prices. Here are some of them....
And the chess piece de resistance...
Most of this stuff was a dollar or two, except for Mr. Horse lamp who was a mere $10 (or maybe it's a mare $10), and the silver tea service which was $20 (!!). This display does not even include the clothes and jewelry from the trip. Now I need a barn so I can make room in the house! In actuality, I end up sharing much of what I get.
There's so much great stuff all around us, and has been for a long time now. I'll say it again -- if today we stopped manufacturing clothes, furniture, toys, and much more, there would be plenty for the whole world's needs for quite some time. And that's long enough. Re-Use, Re-Purpose, Re-Solve, Re-Source, Re-Connect with what's out there.
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We have just returned from a wonderful vacation in Oregon. What a road trip. I'll share a bit of the details here, and for more photos you can visit my Flickr.
One thing that is essential when on the road is choosing your pit stops well. One time when I drove from Santa Cruz, California to Vancouver , Canada I decided to stop mainly in college towns so that I would be assured of finding quality coffee, something that for me is not negotiable. I would pick the highway exit nearest to the campus and without fail discover a good café. On this latest trip we drove up Interstate 5 which presents more of a challenge. It's a trucker's route and as a result you can drive for many a mile without any commerce in sight, as well as having some very seedy towns along the way. We came to discover that it was a safe bet to stop when we saw a Starbucks sign on the roadside. As much as I prefer to go to a locally owned café, we found that Starbucks is a pretty good barometer for "safe" pit stops. If Starbucks won't locate in a given place it raises some red flags; they do have a reputation to protect. Let me make it clear that I am not a snob. When I say "seedy" that can translate as dangerous and creepy (and I'm an urban girl, so you know it's bad, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre bad).
Common Grounds is a sweet café that we stopped at in Willows, California:
Further north we stopped in Dunsmuir, California. It is a train town of 2000 people at the southern foot of Mount Shasta. Their claim to fame is that they have the best, cleanest water in the nation, and in abundance. There are fountains springing up all around town. The water comes from Mount Shasta and doesn't see the light of day until it comes out of the tap, and tastes great.
Another claim to fame for the town is that in 1924 Babe Ruth played at their little stadium. Here are photos of the stands, including Marcel and Richard:
We drove on, to Corvallis, Oregon, where Oregon State University is located; population 52,000. We rented a vacation house, Brooklane Cottage, on a little piece of country property that has fresh eggs from the resident chickens and apple trees surrounding it. There are lovely parks and open spaces nearby, as well as a natural food Co-op that carries all of the essentials plus plenty of prepared foods if you don't feel like cooking. The cottage kitchen is fully functional so you can make your own meals if you like, including home made apple pie!
We went to the northern edge of the city where there were some great hiking trails. I really enjoyed the landscape and the serenity...
There were soooo many berries, I ate my way to the top of the hill and back down again!
One of my most favorite treats of the drive was coming upon this incredible dragon sculpture on the side of the road (heading north on Interstate 5, it is on the east side of the highway just north of Yreka, California). It's by artist Ralph Starritt and is made from scrap metal like mufflers, pipes, and corrugated sheet metal...
Click on the photos for a larger view.
Something that I really appreciated on the vacation was the quality of the air in Oregon. So much cleaner and fresher. Now we're back to the Silicon Valley grime, looking forward to returning north sometime soon.
Next I'll be posting all of my great thrift shop finds from the trip!
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A big thank you to those of you who stick around and check in on me, even though I've been missing in action. I would say you're real troopers, but what a horrible thing to call someone! You're my guardian angels, how 'bout that.
The truth is I've been absorbed, consumed, engaged, submerged, and immersed in my block printing experiments. Here are my latest aquisitions from India that I will be working with:
I have taken some time to enjoy myself in other ways. We recently went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with another blog family. That's my Marcel on the right...
And after, we stopped at a café where bellydancers prowl. I guess I shouldn't say we "stopped"; as you can see, they were in perpetual motion...
Other pleasantries...discovering M.Ward, an indie musician from Portland Oregon...
You can check out a sweet little video of his song Chinese Translation at this link.
And finally (gotta get back to block printing!)...a lovely shop in Amsterdam called Het Grote Avontuur. I discovered it on Sonia's Flickr. She also has an interesting blog. Here are some photos from the shop...
I have a really hard time accepting all that goes along with air travel these days, the pollution, the unhealthy air and food, the uneccessary stress. It's all so inhumane to me, and wasteful. The energy sapping computer maybe isn't the best alternative if I'm being honest, but it's a way that I can discover a shop in Amsterdam without having to leave home and not doing quite as much damage as air travel.
Happy daydreams. Love, Sylvie
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