It's the most wonderful time of the year.....Brimfield! The Brimfield Flea Markets Show was last week, and I made my annual May journey down there. I love, love, love this tradition. Especially because we somehow manage to make it a two night affair, and for two very busy friends, it's a delight to have such focused time together to chat and visit and connect. But of course, there's more than that...because there are treasures to be found! I went there this year with the promise to myself not to fill my bags up with little things - dishes and linens are inevitably what I come home. But this year I found just what I was looking for - a set of chairs (they swivel!!) for in front of our wood stove (that room recently having been rearranged a bit), and a little outdoor sitting furniture too. There was, well, a bit of a color theme as you can see. Ahem. I do love yellow. And treasure hunting!
treasures found
what came home
Halfway through the day at Brimfield, Steve texted for an update, on just how much damage was being done, I mean what treasures I had found. "I'm coming home with a trash can for the garden and some handkerchiefs!" I replied. And really, that's about as crazy as my purchases got at Brimfield this year! Each year, I think I come home with a little less, though my real reasons for going haven't changed. Truly, I love the experience - the people watching is seriously fabulous there, I tell you. It's such an interesting study in humanity, and our culture, the things I see there and the buyers and sellers of all that stuff. And you know how much I love old things - wandering all day through oddities and beauty and oh, the textiles! But I am clearly not a big-deal antique buyer or collector, for that matter. I like mostly looking at Brimfield, and making careful choices about what I bring home (Is it useful? Is it going to clutter up my home even more than it already is cluttered? Do I really really love it or can I just appreciate seeing it and move on?).
There's also the issue of the pricing on things. Being lucky enough to live in this part of Maine, in the land of SO many antique and flea markets, there are better 'deals' to be found closer to home. Still, there's something about so many things gathered in one (big) place to assure that you'll find what you're looking for. Every year, I visit a few of the same vendors to stock up on my necessities - things I don't collect, but rather that we actually use in our day to day. Things you just can't really buy as pretty as they used to make. Handkerchiefs being at the top of that list. Pillowcases and linens too. So, we found our linen lady, in the same spot she always is, and stocked up there. Similarly, there's the silver booth, where I can replenish my supply of spoons in my particular chosen pattern, for it seems that spoons walk out of my kitchen every day and never come back, much to my puzzlement. There are also notions and textiles that I inevitably pick up for some crafty project I have in mind or another (Annabel's birthday being at the top of the list, hence the pink, pink, pink).
Those are the little things I plan on coming home with. And then there are the surprises. Like a trash can! I mean really now, look at that cute thing. A completely impulsive purchase, but one I'm pleased with. I intended it for the garden, but I think I might just plant some tall decorative grasses in it and make it a front porch planter instead - at least for this season. And the dresser and end table I hemmed and hawed on and looked and looked and eventually went back at the end of the day to purchase them both. I love them. I am working on brightening up our bedroom a bit, and this is just the right start for doing so.
And with that, another Brimfield is behind me (I can never bring myself to attend in the heat of July and September is just too full to pull away for antique browsing). Always a treat, often a curiosity, and definitely an inspiration.
they just don't make them like they used to
Yes, clothespins really were on my list! Because have you tried using the ones that are readily available at stores these days? Terrible! The springs are too small and they break too fast. I'm always hunting for the old peg style to add to the stash. And now that my new laundry line holds four loads of laundry (hooray!), I needed a few more. My wish was granted at Brimfield, for a mere couple of dollars.
It was at Brimfield last year that I started noticing and falling in love with the hooked rugs, which then spawned my own interest in making hooked rugs. This year, understanding how they're made just a little bit more, I noticed each and every beautiful rug in my path. And came home with two little ones that I just adore. They're in my front hallway now, along with a simple plant stand that I picked up there as well. It feels so good to freshen up a space with little treasures like this.
I'm always on the hunt for furniture when out and about antiquing. Something that will fit in our house without requiring a total reupholstery job (I'm just not ready for that hobby yet). I was happy to find this cozy chair, sturdy and well made - able to withstand all the jumps and backflips my kids will dish out. And white, yes, white. Wish me well.
When I found this little gem, I said to my friend "Oh, this would be perfect for storing onions and potatoes under my butcher block!" to which the booth owner replied, "that's because that's what it's for!" Ha! Well, there you go, and here it came home with me. I love that pop of green, and it's so handy to have those things right at my side, without going back and forth to the pantry on the other side of the kitchen. Little things that make kitchen time so much more pleasant and comfortable. Plus, that green!
I might have to declare this year at Brimfield, my year of enamelware. I came home with SO much - for the garden (where I use it decoratively as well as to contain things like mint from spreading all over), and for the house, and for the kids. Ani got herself a lovely little set of dishes, just right for her new outdoor kitchen.
I can never leave Brimfield without a vintage dress for one of my girls - I just love them so. And they love them too, for all the dress up and twirling fun they give. I found this sweet set of dresses, for twins, presumably. And while it is too small on one and too big on the other, my two make do for the pleasure of dressing up in 'old fashioned clothes' with their sister.
I do love this Brimfield tradition, coming home with little bits and bobs that fit right into our live and my days.
from Brimfield
(I hope you'll forgive me for not lugging along my big camera this year. I was worried about the rain, and well, maybe a small part of me was eager to fill that extra backpack space with something else. Hmn...)
I'm making my way home now from the annual tradition of a trip to the Brimfield Antique Show with a friend. Ah! What an adventure it always is, this journey. This year was no exception - full of all the usual wonder, delight, treasures, strangeness and visual stimulation I've come to expect from this fair. And of course, some Brimfield popcorn for the ride to and fro! I think this is my fourth year down there for the May show, and it never ceases to bring me such joy to wander through all of those old things and wonder about the life they lead before landing in the piles, as they are there. Of course, I am bringing just a few treasures home with me - as usual, heavy on the 'useful' and utilitarian, with a bit of textile love to boot. I can't wait to get home and unpack all the little bits coming into the house with me. But before I do that.... I got a text from my husband - happily covering me at home with all the kiddos for two nights while I'm off adventuring - asking if I wouldn't mind just stopping by and picking up those two new piglets. It is, after all, on my way.
And so, off I go to the pig farm to squeeze two Tamworth piglets in between the vintage treasures loaded into my van. Including, ahem, the new white wingback chair I bought. Oh thank heavens for tarps! And adventures!
Brimfield
Ah, Brimfield! A much anticipated adventure for me this time of year, yesterday was full of all the things I'm coming to expect from Brimfield. Beautiful, amazing, odd, strange, fascinating and sometimes sad objects; a whole lot of interesting people; tired bones (from walking and hefting all day) and tired eyes (from looking at so much stuff); a lot of quick decision making and haggling (neither of which are skills I excel at); and what I love most of all - an entire day of uninterrupted conversation, laughter, food, and stories with a dear friend.
I feel full of all of that this morning. But my car? Not so full! I didn't come home with a lot - there isn't a lot that I need, nor a lot that caught my eye (well, there was that vintage velvet sofa, but really how many vintage velvet sofas can one house full of children and animals handle?). But a few little things - this and that - did make it home with me. Utilitarian seems to always be the theme upon examining my goods once I'm home, and that's certainly true of this year too. Some new cocktail glasses, my annual stock of up of pillowcases and handkerchiefs, some piano music, new porch chairs, sweet little bird cards. Oh...and a little bit of fun too - do think my house can handle a little bit of farmhouse kitsch with that light fixture there? Fingers crossed we all love it.
Until next year, Brimfield!
at the flea
Antiques USA and Arundel Flea Market
Arundel, Maine
It won't be long till the summer antiquing tourist season is upon us here in Maine. As such, this is the time of year when so many of the flea markets and antique shops have their annual sales, clearing out a bit of the old before freshening up for the season to come. It just so happens to perfectly coincide with the time of year when us locals could sure use a dose of color, an afternoon whiling away the hours wandering the aisles with a friend, and maybe even coming home with something useful and new to look at. More enamelware pots for another compost bucket. A stool for in front of the woodstove. Some funky little hangers for girls dresses. And - what I was on the hunt for - the start of some new dishes. Treasure hunting is so much fun.
coming in
(Afternoon In the Kitchen, by Phoebe Wahl.)
(Baby, by me. Isn't she something?)
I am enjoying the coming in this time of year brings for us. How little corners get spruced up, tidied, changed to suit what we need from the space right now, this year. Though I don't fool myself into thinking anything is ever 'done' in a 200 year old farmhouse, I am excited to see this house evolving and projects long in the works move towards completion. And while I wait for the right time for us to finish that trim in the hallway, replace that old light fixture, or paint the last kitchen wall....I shuffle furniture and frame new prints and we settle in for this season ahead.
A month ago, I was at an antique shop looking for lamps (I'm always looking for lamps). I didn't find lamps, but I did stumble upon a spindle daybed and kinda fell in love with it. But, not being there for a new daybed, and not knowing what I'd even do with it if I did get it, I left empty handed. And then the silly daybed became one of those things that kept creeping into my thoughts until I woke up one morning and said, "Steve, I'll be right back. I have to go get a daybed". He didn't blink, and I thanked my lucky stars when it was still there, and brought it home where it prompted a little living room freshening. Some new curtains quickly followed their way into the room (a Marimekko shower curtain cut in half for each window with just a bit of stitching), and it all feels just right for a cozy winter ahead. Though the couch across from it is bigger and softer, it seems that most of us are drawn to that little daybed. Playing, reading, napping and working. But really, put a little bed, with a pile of pillows, right in front of a wood stove and who could resist that? Not a one of us.
singer stitching
I've been remiss in introducing you to my newest studio mate. Isn't she pretty? I love her so.
I've walked by so many of these in antique shops, thrift stores and the like, each time stopping to admire them, and thinking, oh, someday, it'll be just the right time for me to bring that home/spend the money/have the space to store it. I'm so glad I waited. Recently, while on a family attic clean-out with Steve's mother, we came across this. She mentioned that no one else in the family wanted it, and she wasn't sure what to do with it. It was her mother's, the machine on which she sewed all of her daughter's dresses. In its case, perfectly cared for, but clearly worked hard, with a box full of all the attachments and bits and bobs. Well, well...something old and pretty, full of sentimentality and family history, that I can craft with? I was absolutely delighted and honored to bring it home with me.
With a quick google of the serial number, I dated her to 1930. Electric, with a mounted light and powered by the knee pedal. Plugging her in just as soon as I got home, with curious children around me, it started right up and steadily stitched as though it was yesterday that it last had a spin, not the forty or so years we think that it's really been since she's been plugged in. And I can't really describe it, but goodness, it just felt so good. Don't get me wrong, I love my new Bernina to pieces, but oh, there's something special about an old, simple, sturdy and well made machine. Both, I think, are just what I want to sew with.
The knee pedal took a little getting used to - and probably always will be a little funky for me, given that there's a knee pedal on my Bernina that does something very different (raises and lowers the foot). But other than my operating clunkiness, sewing with this old Singer was a dream. And fun. And full of meaning. I never met Margaret, the woman who spent so much time at this machine, and for whom our Adelaide Margaret is named. She passed long before I met Steve. But knowing her family full of genuinely loving, kind, and fun people that I've come to know as my own family these past fourteen years, I think I'd like her an awful lot. I'm grateful for this tiny little piece of her life in my home. And who knows, but maybe - just maybe - one of my children will learn to sew on their great grandmother's machine. Wouldn't that be lovely? I think so.
found at brimfield
It's a funny thing, Brimfield buying and treasure hunting in general. Like in the larger scheme of life, I really do love to have a plan. Lists are fabulous - essential, I dare say. But just as essential is the ability to ditch the plan, ignore the list, and let go of any and all expectation when the time calls for that. Such was certainly the case this week in Brimfield when not a single thing on my 'wish list' was something I could find/love/buy/bring home. But regardless of that list, I didn't come home emtpy handed at all. Fun, light, and fun were the themes of the day's treasures...
These vintage hats caught my eye, thinking of how much appreciated it is when the dress up gets a bit of a new boost. Though I don't anticipate these being limited to 'dress up', if the clothing collections they put together today are any indication.
My little miss found herself with a new chair yesterday morning when she woke up. Having outgrown the high chair, she was in a booster seat that was perfectly adequate but that honestly we didn't love. I've had it in the back of my mind to find one of these child's chairs and was so glad I did find one in Brimfield. She's glad too.
My girls got themselves some new vintage dresses from the very same dealer I bought some of Adelaide's favorite dresses from last year. And just like last year, the second I got to the car, I regretted not getting a few more. Less expensive than anything I could buy 'new', and oh so much nicer. So much beauty and detail in those old garments. Oh well, there's next year. When I also will surely pick up more headscarves, as that's the best place to get them. And serving spoons by the bucket full, yes, yes. All so useful and necessary.
Garden decor, I worry, can be a slippery slope. A rusted galvanized tub here, an enamel pot there, an old window pane over there....and before you know it, there's more broken, old 'stuff' in the garden than growing things. I must confess that I am quite in love with all of those kinds of things individually, but do not trust myself enough to know when to stop. Ahem. Which is why I was ever so grateful to be with gardening friends with impeccable taste who told me I was okay in getting this enamel wash basin to put plants in. Phew! (I don't know if they would/should approve of the gnome in the background there. Hmn...)
These enamel pots might be my favorite treasures of the day. I do so love that color. And you know I love that yellow. And well, of course I love those goofy children.
And there you have it. There were no amazing deals or precious finds, no fine antiques that will be inherited by my children someday. Just simple little things that I find useful or beautiful, and that fit right into our home and our days. My favorite kind of treasure.
at brimfield
Late, late, late last night as I happily and finally crashed into my own bed, I closed my eyes and saw rows upon rows of wooden rolling pins and spools and linens, abruptly interrupted at every corner by another mid-century modern chair. What a day at Brimfield! It would be impossible to take it all in (someday, I'm going to make it a two-day trip, I really am), but we certainly soaked up the sights and sounds (and smells?) from where we did roam. From beautiful to gaudy, hopeful to sad, inspiring to quirky - each thing having a story to tell....and so many people around, interested in that story on the buying or the selling end. It's a fascinating place to visit, and a lovely day with friends amongst all the treasures.
Tomorrow I'll share my finds. I think today is calling for a quiet walk in the woods!
brimfield bound
{Some new-to-me linens, courtesy of my mother-in-law, drying on the line.}
By the time this note publishes live to you, I hope I will be a few states south, long-since parked, and deep into exploring the goodness that is Brimfield Antique Show! (My trip in photos, last year.) I go, truly, for the eye candy. To stroll through the aisles of all those old and precious things, displayed in creative fun and interesting ways. For all the characters one meets at such a place. For the company of friends at my side, giggling at the silly sights, and haggling for me when I really need it (because really, I just can't do it). I go for a day alone! Oh so many good reasons to go to Brimfield, and the smallest of those, really, is what I come home with. This year in particular I am being quite mindful of how much I bring home...and where it will live....and what it will do for us. Scrolling back through the treasures of last years trip, I am so glad to see that every single thing I brought home is used by us nearly each day. The clothes rack, the napkin rings, the ironing board, the pillowcases on my bed right now, the vintage dresses my girl loves to wear (and cover in farm dirt). I am hopeful for the same results this year. Small things, useful treasures, everyday beauties. Nothing more, nothing less.
On my wish list? A new napkin ring for Ezra, serving spoons, more handkercheifs (there are never enough), a little something special for my baby girl's birthday this weekend, maybe a funky light fixture for my living room and well, we'll just see what happens.
...to Brimfield!
treasures found
It's been some time since we had a little thrifty show-and-tell, so shall we stroll through those Brimfield treasures I brought home?
I was quite happy to be browsing the eye candy there, not entirely certain I would come home with much at all (oh, I do love our Maine flea market prices, I was reminded!). In addition to having a clear budget, I did give some thought beforehand to what I might be looking for, as well as what I wanted to steer myself away from. Thrifty manifestations and reminders, yes indeed. My self-imposed "not allowed" list included dishes and quilts - always inclined to pick up both of those things, but with need and space for neither at the moment.
While "quilts" specifically were out (truly, where would I put another one?), I simply cannot resist the lure of tiny stitches. All those tiny stitches! All that energy of all those women! Of course, a pile of linens came home with me - mostly embroidered pillowcases to freshen the stack at home.
Another weakness of mine - vintage baby clothes. The detail on these older pieces always grabs me, and the handstitching, and oh those prints! That orange and green has stolen my heart and very likely inspired the next quilt in my mind. And these will most definitely and most heartily be worn by my girls (boys clothes in wearable condition, I find, are harder to come by).
This tiny little napkin ring was the treasure on my list that made me most happy of all to find. I've been looking for Annabel's napkin ring for the dinner table since her arrival and hadn't found just the right one until this appeared. It's just right - and just in time for her first birthday too!
Oh my - a set of linens with embroidered chickens? Likely meant to be used as cocktail napkins (judging by the size), they'll be used here as children's handkerchiefs.
I had hoped to come home with either a dresser or bookshelves - both of which are in need, in multiples, around here. I was pleased to find just the perfect shelves for Adelaide's room. Matching the rest of her furniture, they look to me as though they've always been here.
And another happy find, a wall mounted drying rack. I've been looking for something like this to keep near the woodstove - just a small one for putting a few things on. This one is just the right size, and in such good shape too.
And lastly, I found myself an old wooden ironing board. Ah! Incredibly sturdy, it just needed a new cover (using this Echino fabric) and was instantly ready to be placed into studio action, working on the next quilt as the case may be.
I realized, walking around the tents of Brimfield, and looking here at the things that came home and the things that often do come home with me from such places, that I lean towards functional and utilitarian when treasure hunting. That while I appreciate the 'collectibles,' I'm so pleased to find the little something that has a bit of life left in it. Something that was made by hand and built to last for a very long time. All those tiny little stitches embroidered by women years ago, or slabs of wood hammered into something functional for the family home - all created with the intent of being used everyday. Doing just that fills me with gratitude and joy.
at Brimfield
Excuse my radio silence here yesterday. Typepad - my blog hosting service - apparently had quite a rough day, and my pre-written and scheduled blog post got sucked into the abyss of the internets, never to be seen again! In seven years of blogging with them, that's never happened. So there you go - a perfectly understandable hiccup.
But the quiet of yesterday is now replaced by the 'noise' of today's photographs....for I have sights from my Brimfield adventure to share! Oh me, Oh my. Brimfield. (Christine just wrote a lovely post about her own visit, full of great tips.)
With the lovely Ms. Brenner at my side, and no children on our backs, we walked and walked and walked and walked (I can officially declare my Aurora Shoes to be my most comfy of all), and looked at as much of Brimfield as we could in a day. We found things both beautiful and bizarre, wondered if perhaps an extra zero was accidentally placed on the price tag a few times (of course not), and simply marveled at all the stuff - in the arms of shoppers, in the tents, and well, in the world, really. Wow.
We arrived home late last night, a little bit tired but very happy and content. Grateful for inspiration, eye candy, and and the company at my side. I did find a few utilitarian, sweet and affordable treasures that came home with us. I'll clean those up to share soon enough. But for today - I thought you might like to stroll with me through the aisles for a tiny little peek of Brimfield. (And you don't even need your comfy walking shoes on!) Enjoy....
Corners of Our Home :: Filling the Holes
I realized this morning that last week we passed the six year anniversary of this here little blog. Happy Blogaversary, my friends! To continue my ritual of bringing you to new and exciting places each and every single day.....today, let's head into the bathroom! Yes, again! (wink, wink.)
But really - for this tiny little room - a whole lot of my thought has gone into it. Not a whole lot of solutions yet, mind you, but a whole lot of puzzling, "well, what do we do with that?"
The above photo is the only before photo I have in this space, which means that I was operating somewhere between avoidance and denial - I couldn't even look at it safely from behind the lens. (Avoidance and denial work for a little while in the world of old house renovations, I'm learning. It's all good.)
Like these holes in the walls that we've been living with for six months. Holes in which my children have dropped countless toothbrushes, socks, toothpaste tube caps, pieces of playmobil hair, likely some toast, and who knows what else to be discovered in some future decade (now, that's a true time capsule). The walls in here are actually bathroom wall cladding. Plastic walls. Not so easy to patch. And the whole-room demo/redo that I came up with as "the perfect solution"? So not in the budget right now, or anywhere close to the top of either the Want or Need priority list.
And so we make do, right?
Some simple DIY plumbing solutions, a skirt for a sink, the just-right fitting and affordably-thrifted vintage mirror (six months of walking around thrift shops with a tape measure finally paid off), one new light fixture (Acworth from Barnlight Electric), and a simple little modge-podged towel hook that allows for a 'big people' hand towel in addition to the one for little hands below (and, oh-so-conveniently covers up another hole in the wall).
This corner is done. For now.
{Top print by Camilla Engman, bottom print by Ashley Goldberg.}
One tiny, simple little corner at a time, it really does all come together.
in search of
While more snow fell down around us, ensuring the landscape will remain truly white for a while longer, I went out searching this weekend. I came home empty handed, but with my head full of pattern, color, texture...and full from the treasured time spent wandering the aisles with a friend.
It's just what I was looking for.
(Cabot Mill Antiques. Brunswick, Maine)
Cheers to you all on this Monday morning! May you find just what you're in search of this week, too.
from the barn II
Carpenters - and spouses of carpenters (because we learn a whole lot by osmosis, don't we?) - you may just want to avert your eyes from here today for what you are about to witness is a hack job of the truest kind. A hack job, though, that was for one - free, and secondly - totally works. Hooray!
So, last time in From The Barn, I promised you power tools this time around and here you have it. Just a drill, mind you, but a powertool nonetheless. (I'm working my way up. Just you wait.)
The problem was that we needed a table for Ezras room that could hold his stereo, speakers, and provide some way to 'store' his albums too. It needed to fit into the space had left in his room, naturally, and um, it needed to be free. So...I headed to the barn.
In that barn, after working my way through a whole lot of spiders (I have never seen spiders like I've seen in this barn!), I found an old pile of doors. This one - a half door of sorts, perhaps for some kind of cabinet or closet or space that no longer existed inside the house. Poking around for some kind of "legs," I found the pieces of what could barely be called a table anymore. It belonged, actually, to my great grandmother (because when you buy a house with a barn, why not add some of your own 'stuff' to the piles?) and despite it being well beyond repair, I've had the hardest time letting it go. Until I decided in that moment that in pieces, and repurposed, we could actually enjoy it once again. And so...off with its legs.
I took off the glass doorknob (and tucked that away for something else), all the hinges and gave it a good cleaning. And then (this is where you want to avert your eyes, professionals!), I simply screwed those legs (um, many times) with the longest screws I could find right onto the four corners of the table. A tiny bit of sanding on the bottom to level it all, some putty to cover the holes, a layer of paint later (Yolo's Imagine .04, which I've used on all the bookshelves in the house)....and well, we had ourselves a table.
Yes, we were all quite happy about that.
It fits, just perfectly, where I needed it to go, without taking up too much space. I love that it has a bit of the 'old' house story, and a bit of our 'old' family story too.
And mostly I love that it's miraculously straight and completely sturdy and just perfect for all the rocking out that my little boy loves to do with his records.
He keeps his Album of the Week right here.
Sorry John, Paul, George and Ringo. It looks like you're on your way out.
Miss Mae's Coffee Crisps
I think I am coming to realize - though, I may have understood it and written about it before in other ways - that this spot right here is the center of my home. Not only where I spend such a great deal of my time (a great deal)...but the place I go to when I need to find that center of home, and that center of self. Coming home from a few days away and not knowing quite where to begin, arriving home from a day out, following harsh words spoken with those I love, or when I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed or momentarily lost. Landing myself in this spot, rooting my feet firmly on this floor where the varnish is long but gone from the wide pine boards, digging my hands and my heart into making something. Something to nourish the ones I love. And a process that nourishes me in the meantime. This is where I find my center. And where - generally - I can emerge from with a much calmer, connected and centered perspective.
For no particular reason, I found myself in a bit of a wandering mood upon returning home one day recently. There was much to be done for work around the house, but I couldn't focus. Just sitting didn't feel quite right in this given moment. And the children were amazingly all four quite happily occupied in their own transitioning-home activities. Having just discussed all of the above kitchen revelations with a dear friend a few days earlier, I thankfully remembered it....and headed right to the kitchen.
None of the regulars or 'needed' things to be baked felt inspiring to me. I let my fingers wander over the overflowing, double-stacked bookshelf of cookbooks until it landed on this one. Something from my grandmother's collection. Something I think I flipped through upon bringing it home after her passing, but nothing I'd spent a great deal of time on. I started looking through it's pages, determined to make something 'a little different'. And that's when I found these Coffee Crisps by a certain Mae Nellson. They aren't exactly whole grain cooking, but oh, sometimes a treat is in order, I do believe. And, coffee cookies? Intriguing...
I love that baking lends itself to whatever I need from it any given moment. Sometimes, I'm totally present and aware of what's going on right now, and the act of kneading or mixing becomes a meditative act of mindfulness. Sometimes, it's a wonderful chance for daydreaming. Daydreaming about who Miss Mae might have been, precisely when she might have served these cookies. And did she have children who also helped her bake them by trying to sample the sugar? Might she also have felt simultaneously blessed and overwhelmed at times? I wonder all of these things as her cookies begin to come together in front of me.
Of course, these old recipes leave a lot of room for imagination in the meaning as well - this one was summed up in one complete sentence, "one half cup molasses, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup lard, 1/3 cup hot coffee, 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in coffee, and 2 cups flour to roll thin." And that's that.
That little blip of a recipe is translated below, with a few changes and tweaks after making these several times now. They've been a hit around the adult family members here (and the eldest boy, too). A perfectly crispy, sweet mid-day treat. If we were neighbors, I'd love to share some with you. But I hope this will do. From Miss Mae and I to you....
Miss Mae's Coffee Crisps
Makes 36 2.5" crisps
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup hot coffee
1 tsp baking soda
2 3/4 cups flour
granulated sugar
2.5" biscuit cutter, or juice glass
Preheat oven to 375degrees. Dissolve 1tsp of baking soda in the hot coffee. Combine molasses, sugar, melted butter, and hot coffee mix and stir until combined. Gradually add flour until dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll thin (to 3/8"). Use a biscuit cutter or juice glass to make 2-3" circles. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with granulated sugar, if desired. Bake for 14-18 minutes, to desired crispness. Cool on baking racks.
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{Note: This recipe now lives in the "Tutorial & Recipes" section of this website (the link is up above in the banner, too!). There, you'll find most of the recipes, patterns, and tutorials I've shared over the years. In addition, I've been working on categorizing my archives, which you can now see about halfway down the sidebar on the right. I'm 2/3rds of my way through 1700 posts. Oh my. So there is more yet to come. I hope all of this helps makes things a little easier to find around here!}
found :: a happy little typewriter
I've been popping into thrift shops with great frequency of late for one thing and one thing only: chapter books. My boys are zipping through them faster than I can keep up with - Boxcar Children, Hardy Boys, the Narnia series and on and on. With a price tag of 10-49 cents a piece, the thrift shop is our favorite place to pick them up (besides the library, of course).
I've been rather avoiding the rest of the store though, of late. We seem to be quite set for clothes and dishes, and well...with all the people in our little space, I try to be mindful of how much I bring home. There is not space for much more around here. And more importantly, we don't need anything right now. (Except for that thrifted replacement cuinsinart miracle I'm still hoping for.)
We most certainly don't need another typewriter.
But, you see, I recently found myself on the way to those book aisles at a local thrift shop. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied this little number and it just kind of sang out to me. You know that feeling? It made me happy, this sweet green stout typing machine. I smiled at it and walked on by. And I wandered to the books, where I browsed and thought about it a little bit more. I picked up a few Hardy Boys, a few more National Geographics for kid collage work, and well...on my way to the checkout, I found myself standing squarely in front of this typewriter again. Smiling. I kind of couldn't stop smiling at it.
Fancy that.
You know the rest of the story. She's home with us now. There isn't a television in our house, and no one cares much about the computer (besides Mama)....but these little typing machines are in daily use with all the newspapers and stories and notes that are written around these parts. These machines are so used and loved. Is it really so extravagant that everyone have their very own vintage typewriter? Perhaps not so much.
Sometimes all the logical thinking in the world can only take you so far. Sometimes 'just because we love it' wins out.
There's only one problem as far as I can see. I have four children. Um, we might need just one more.
wanderings
Among some of my favorite moments in life are surely those in which a few hours are 'lost' wandering through aisles of 'stuff' with dear friends. Literal and figurative. Treasures and Treasured.
The Handmades: Ezra's Vinyl
Alright, alright, so I didn't really make the vinyl. But we did thrift, gather, scrounge and do just a wee bit of sewing for this gift. In planning for many months, Steve and I had a lot of fun putting this one together for our Ezra.
Digital music is wonderful, of course...and how most of our music is heard (this boy spends every minute of his computer time bouncing around our ITunes Library - checking stuff out, and making playlists like nobody's business - who knew that you could seamlessly go from Cat Stevens to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Natalie MacMaster to Dan Zanes? I didn't. Ezra did.). But we had a feeling he would most especially dig a setup of his own, of the vinyl variety. Because, oh, that feeling of holding the music in your hands is so precious.
We (well, Steve, really), compiled this bundle from all over - thrift shops, record stores, and Grampie's garage (you know never know what my Dad's going to pull out of that garage of his). And each trip that we've taken to Goodwill in the past six months has found us stopping by the record bin to pick up an album or two. Oh, what fun that has been - from Swedish polka to Mozart to Joan Jett and even a little bit of Peanuts. Adding a few from my own college record collection (existing nearly entirely of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Carole King - and yes, it was the 90's), he has himself quite the eclectic, fun, and fabulous starter collection.
Flipping through each one on Solstice night, we kept hearing giggles and, "This is AWESOME!"
It was awesome. He's awesome.
I made this little pouch for him, to keep some record money in, too (I told you there was sewing! And embroidery, even!). I love that we can take a trip to the thrift store, and for mere pennies of his very own (usually 49 or 99 cents a piece - even less in summer yard sales or on Freecycle), a whole new world of music can be in his hands.
Popping in to say one last goodnight to the boys lately, I've been finding a common scene: record spinning, and boy nodding off with an album in his hands. Kissing him goodnight, taking the album out of his hands, and checking the bed for scissors (really, it must be done), he'll often wake just enough to mutter a one-sentence review of the band in hand. Last night: "The Magical Mystery Tour is kind of...weird. But I think I like it."
Good times.
The Handmades: Dr. Ada
This little gift for my Adelaide was born wandering the aisles of a flea market last fall. It was there that I stumbled on this 1930's leather doctors case for a decent price and promptly fell in love with it, imagining all the possibilities for play. It was about that time that "Pet Shop," "Animal Shelter," and "Veterinarian Office" had begun in earnest for Adelaide's daily play (though, you all know that the animal love goes back to the beginning!). A Veterinarian's Kit seemed just right for a special gift for her.
I gathered a few 'veterinarian's things' to get her started - a (purple!) stethoscope, bandages, penlights, masks, and lots of other little treats of that nature. I am sure the stash will grow. {Just as I was putting the final touches on it, I broke the original handle, but replaced it with purple velvet - thanks to the suggestions on a last-minute Flickr plea for help! Thank you!}
And then there was the Veterinarian's coat. I had planned to sew one, but as time began to shrink on me (as it has a way of doing before the holidays, yes?), I decided to purchase one (found here). Perfectly timed, was the arrival of A Rainbow of Stitches - a fabulous new resource for funky, fun and fresh embroidery patterns (along with ideas for applying them). And - thank goodness - a page full of kitties. Yes.
In the past week, Dr. Ada has been SO very busy as the calls to her office have just been pouring in. Traveling by horse, she makes house calls, arriving (as she says), "'fast as a whistle.' She'll treat everything from mice to cattle; ducks with broken beaks and horses with sore hooves (the goose and rabbit are both made by Hansa - we love their realistic looked animals). And of course, dogs and cats.
Especially this one...
scenes
Some sights from a weekend flea market adventure with friends in Arundel, Maine. The aisles and booths of which are so full of oh so many...
:: old
:: funny
:: random
:: strange
:: beautiful
:: and lovely things.
A few little treasures - just a few - sang out to come home with me (can you guess?). I love the song they sing.
yellow!
The fairies of thrifting threw a little sunshine my way yesterday.
Yellow!
scenes from the market & f o u r !
at the Cabot Mill in Brunswick, Maine.
So very much for the eye to take in amongst the piles and stacks at a flea market. I could wander there all day dreaming of what once was and what could still be...
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I've just realized that this week marks four years of blogging for me here in this space. FOUR years. 4. Oh my, that just sounds kind of wild to me. And I really don't know what to say about it, besides a humble 'thank you,' and a hearty Cheers!
i love...
that girl
those shoes
that rabbit hold
those saggy tights
...and this vintage wool coat that I found thrifting many years ago - before I even had a daughter - and had quietly stashed in the back of a closet for 'someday, maybe'.
I love that my sweet girl loves it as much as I do.
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She's going to need a lot more than this wool coat to stay warm this weekend. Fireside is where we'll be. It's - as we say around these parts - wicked cold. (It's a chilly 14 below zero at the moment.) Wherever you are, and whatever the weather, I hope your weekend is a cozy one!
I love...
...this little old typewriter, and the tip-tap-tapping sound it makes as you write. I love it almost as much as I love all the stories that my little ones write on it. This one, "The Fox Gets Lost", by Ezra starts out:
Once there was a fox who had 1234 legs but the fox did not have 123456789 legs.
Awesome.
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The stories you shared yesterday are wonderful - individually, and collectively, they not only help a new knitter, but they tell a lovely tale of craft, too. Thank you so much for sharing them!
the aprons are hung
Much later in the season than usual, I pulled out the box of holiday linens this week. A box full of holiday tablecloths and napkins, towels, and aprons of years past. A box full of memories and dreams, too.
I never showed you this sweet new one from last year. It was made by Meg (I believe it's based on her Emmeline pattern), and was part of our 2007 Holiday Traditions Exchange. Exchanging recipes, traditions, songs and books. I love hearing what other families do to celebrate this season - in all the many diverse ways we do so. Now this apron from a friend I've never 'met' has now been added to our own traditions and stories - in the family collection of aprons we'll be wearing this season and for many more to come.
Adelaide has taken a special fondness this year to this one, to no one's surprise. Those christmas cats, of course. It's never one I would have picked up on my own, but it was my grandmother's and so I treasure it dearly. Just seeing it and touching the worn cotton fabric - it all reminds me of walking into her warm house full of yummy smells and soft hugs on Christmas, and seeing this tied around her waist as she prepared a party full of food in her kitchen.
I nearly forgot what a flood of emotion would come with opening that box of holiday linens (no, it's not the post-baby hormones, I fully admit that an apron alone has the power to tug at my heart). But oh, those aprons - some handmade - by me and others, some passed down, some found - all carrying a special meaning of one kind or another. Each with it's own story; some with years worth of flour in spots so thick that the fabric is faded there; and some with stories I'll never know but always wonder about; and some with stories yet to happen in our family - that I can only dream about now. But all evoking a little bit of the spirit of the holidays - of time spent baking and making for those we love, of feasts prepared and shared, and of home and family.
the Rocking Chair chronicles v.2
This is what happens when I get up from the rocking chair. It gets snatched up by sleeping cats and sleeping babies in search of the perfect spot.
Mostly though, there's me - sitting and knitting. And sometimes - often - the combination of the two, leads to the above. A sleeping Mama.
Do you have a favorite sitting spot of your own? Wanna join in on capturing it with your camera? Join me and my rockin' sister Stefani over on Flickr in the Sit a Spell group! Everyone needs to put her feet up once in a while and sit a spell - how lovely that we can remind each other...
the Rocking Chair chronicles *
(* with a wink and a nod to Eren for a new series suggestion!)
Alright, well maybe sitting here all day is a bit unrealistic. But seriously, hours were spent yesterday right there - knitting, eating, reading, talking, delegating, watching the baby move, and negotiating the sibling squabbles. With camera at my side (um, I sent someone to get it), some things I saw:
Ezra joined me for some Presidential chatter. He's quite enamored with the new book Our White House (an amazing resource, by the way), and worked on his sketch of all of the presidents, stopping at Jimmy Carter when he ran out of room on the page. Hmn...
Calvin stopped by to tell me his dream lineup for Friday night's Red Sox Playoff game. He also drew his "Top Three Dream Plays" that he's hoping will happen. Grand slams, bases loaded with Ortiz up at bat, crazy ninth inning catches by Veritek to save the game - you know, all that stuff. Baseball, I'm only so excited about, but manifesting your dreams? - I like it.
I watched Adelaide read the entirety of Seven Silly Eaters to Banjo, with a 'swaddling blanket' so as to assure his "sitting" for the length of the book. He obliged. Only for her.
And I did some knitting. A lot of knitting.
There was also a marathon crazy eights session, a cartwheel-off-the-couch contest, a glue stick love fest, and a tea party.
Good times, I tell you. Good, boring, ordinary times. Right from where I sat.
I'll be right here
This weekend, after the all the apple-making, and the wood-stacking, I had a quick dash to the flea markets. And I finally found the 'antique, sturdy, comfy, pretty and affordable rocking chair' I've been keeping my eye out for all summer - and longer, even. I got it in the door and barely brushed off the dust before sitting down in it in front of the fire and picking up my needles. Oh goodness - words cannot express that feeling. And it's essentially where I've been ever since that moment - sitting and rocking. And dreaming and scheming up all the ways in which I could ignore everything I have to do outside of my home, and adjust all my responsibilities so that I never have to leave this spot again....
Feed my family? Why surely Calvin can dash to the pantry for a jar of applesauce, and Ezra can count five spoons from the kitchen - that counts as dinner, right?...
Write? Blog? I can't see why the laptop can't be delivered right here...to my lap...
Stoke the fire? Thankfully, that's one the three of them are happy to fight over...
Homeschool my children? Well, at least I'll be easy to find. Bring me a book and let's read, come snuggle on my lap and talk, come sit at my feet and draw...
Cast my ballot? Absentee!...
Holiday Shopping? Etsy, baby. Handmade, delivered right to my door...
See my friends? Gladly they've already proven that they'll come to me and sit right next to me. They even bring food. Ah...
Birth a baby? Okay, well I suppose I'll have to get out of the chair for that one. But not far - we'll just put the birthing tub right next to it anyway. And when it's over I'll sit right back in this chair with babe in arms and nurse and sit and sleep and rock all the way 'til spring...
Yes, I'll be right here. (Oh, friends. If this is to be my lucky fate, I fear the blogging content around these parts is about to take a steep turn towards very, very boring.)
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Greetings! I'm Amanda Blake Soule - mother of five, author of four books on family creativity, editor & owner of Taproot Magazine. I live with my family in an old farmhouse in Western Maine where we raise animals, grow vegetables and make lots of things. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting!
