Just for Fun

Monday again, so enjoy a couple of day-brighteners!

The awesome Mrs. Puff urges everyone to practice "Safe Pix".

This is the BEST store in Montgomery, Texas! The owner, Ms. Lindy, and her daughter have a wonderfully quirky style, with tons and tons of cool jewelry, hand-made scarves (knitted, knotted and crocheted), plus the best displays around. Recycling is the watchword--anything that can be glued, sewn or attached with jump rings is incorporated into the store's displays and goods.

The store also carries a great selection of Rodeo-femme and edgy clothing to tickle the fancy of Redneck Girls, Goth Chicks, Boho Babes and Rodeo Queens. I bought two mufflers and one braided "belt" hand-made by Lindy. She and her daughter are selling their goods at the Dallas Market. But Houstonians don't have to head to the Big D for a fashion fix. Just mosey out to Montgomery, Texas, and get your glam on! The weather's perfect this time of year.

If you don't have a horse, not to worry.  Montgomery, Texas, has plenty of parking, plus a fine selection of antique and curio shops to tempt you.

Summer Sunday

From my garden:

 

My latest foster, a tiny, cute Chihuahua boy who was starving to death in the Shelter due to stress:

Vintage compass on a vintage map.

My husband got me this lovely, palm-sized vintage compass at a ship salvage shop and antique dealer in Bangladesh.

 Vintage compass on a vintage map.

The walnut-toned wood box has a metal label reading "Negretti & Zambra, as does the compass itself, both on the cover, and under the glass on the rose's face. The outside of the compass lid reads "Edward VII Compass King & Emporer 1908". The date, 1908, and the word, "London" is inscribed on the compass rose under the glass. The compass has a fob, as well as a sliding knob to lock the floating needle in place when not in use.

The poem, Robert Frost's "The Road Less Taken" has been engraved on brass-toned metal and appears to have been attached to the inside cover. This poem dates to 1915 and was not really considered a classic until the mid-1920s. I'm assuming that the inscription was added later, particularly because the font-styles are more modern.

My husband isn't sure if the compass actually dates to 1908. Negretti & Zambra manufactured compasses, telescopes, monocules, barameters and other scientific items during this time period, but I was unable to find a similar compass style during a fairly comprehensive Internet search.

If you know anything about vintage compasses, please leave a comment. No matter whether this is a reproduction or an actual antique, it is still a wonderful addition to my collection of cartography and geographic ephemera.

Necklaces from Forever 21.  Owls and sweet Victorian designs are quite the rage at this trendy teen-fashion store.  A new, large store just opened in our local mall.  My 16-year-old is in swoony heaven.

Page scan from a vintage booklet about fuchsias.  It's far too hot to grow these beauties here in Houston.  During the 1980s, I worked in a landscape nursery, and fuchsias like these were very popular.  We would have quizzes from the boss to identify the blossoms by name.  I love the dreamy, soft hues of this old photograph.

More '70s Time Travel

 Mushrooms!  Orange and yellow color themes!  Sweet daisies!  It's the '70s!

I was 11 as the 1970s began, and as I was the oldest child, and lacked older cousins or hip babysitters, I missed the Peace-Love '60s.   I only knew what a "hippie" was from novels or from reading "Time" magazine.  But I remember the 1970s!  My  16-year-old daughter is taking an apparel class this semester in high school, and she is fascinated by the punk fashions of the late '70s.

 Daisies...there were daisies everywhere in the 1970s.

She was disappointed when I explained that I never even saw punk fashion until I was out of college and was going to clubs.  Alas, she doesn't realize that the 1970s was about Earth Shoes, Ditto jeans, baseball jersey tee shirts (my favorite one said "32", for some special reason that now eludes me), plaid pants, and lots and lots of polyester knits, especially for dresses and pant suits, which girls were allowed to wear to school in the 7th grade on Fridays only.

Remember the Ecology flag?  Somewhere I have a patch with this design!

But, wait, there's more!  The 1970s I remember the most was the "back to nature" world of Whole Earth Catalogs, Mother Earth News, the ecology flag and those "ecology collages," which were wooden boxes with various-sized compartments and a glass top.

 This awesome book cover got me thinking about the 1970s.

Click the large size to appreciate the details.

We created primitive assemblages in those boxes, complete with seashells, river rocks and seed pods (or dry beans and popcorn kernels if you couldn't find the cool stuff) filling each little square.  We'd hunt through magazines for a dreamy nature photo--a seashore or forest scene, then we'd add a niche-appropriate plastic animal.  The boxes were hung in our dens and kitchens, next to a macrame piece woven on a real branch,  until bugs ruined the corn kernels or the seed pods grew moldy fuzz.

 Kwai Chang Caine, the Shaolin priest who wandered the American West.

My favorite part of the 1970s?  Well, I was a huge, huge fan of "Kung Fu," the ABC show starring the late David Carradine.  I wanted so much to be like the soft-spoken hero, Kwai Chang Caine.  I spent hours drawing dragons and tigers on my inner arms (and the arms of my friends) with ball point pen.  I watched the show, read the tie-in books and clipped any photos I could find.  In late high school, I took Shotokan Karate, rising to a 3rd degree green belt (one level below brown belt), which was a testimony to my discipline because I have no natural athletic ability.  Even today I still like the show--I have all three seasons in boxed DVD sets, but the first season and the first half of season two contain my favorite episodes.

I have to go find some apparel from the 1970s for my daughter's project--at this stage, all I think I have left is some costume jewelry and a couple Bicentennial scarves.  I wore snap-front denim jumper and a "Spirit of '76" scarf knotted around my throat for my junior high school photo.  Maybe I'll give my daughter that!

-*-
Invitation, daisies, ecology flag, and photo of "Kung Fu" lead David Carradine, courtesy of Google Search and Flickr.  "How to Tell it's the 1970s" is a digital art piece created by C. Bruhn

Dog Days

Last year, I had 11 different foster dogs.  I get them from my local Shelter, where I volunteer.  I take care of them, then help them find new homes.  Currently, I have two fosters--the tiny Chihuahua my daughter (yes, she has dyed her hair green-blue for the Summer) is trying to snuggle.

This is my other foster, a little whippet-like mixed breed named "Tucker."

This is my own dog, our darling little rat terrier mix, Cross.  She is sweet and loves to give kisses, which is really why she is sticking her tongue out.

And this doesn't have a thing to do with dogs. It's a shot of my daughter's shoes and socks, which she wore with a sparkly party dress, to the Band Banquet.  She has her own unique style, and it never ceases to amaze and amuse me!

How's your summer going?  We're making crafts (I have Mod-Podge and hot glue stuck on my nails as I type this).  Leave me a note about the fun stuff going on at your rancho!