Is it or Isn't it?

You know my favorite auction guys -- the GMB boys. If my life is going right --once a month or so -- they have an auction in Dewitt, Iowa -- and Bert and I meet for breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe -- then spend the rest of the day digging for treasure.
For us, it's a typical Saturday. The auction is held inside the 4-H cattle barn. We sit on bleachers and have "auction friends" to visit with. So, on a rainy day a couple of weeks ago -- that's what we were doing.

When we first get to the auction, we do a walk-around to figure out where the treasure is. On this particular day -- I was very interested in the FOUR SEWING MACHINES that were sitting on the end of the table. A Bernina 1080, a recent Brother and two Singers. They were in excellent condition.

There were also 50 very old framed Women's Day magazine covers. I LOVE THEM... wouldn't that be an intersting way to cover the wall behind my sewing machine?? Hummm...

I was interested in two tubs of paint -- along with dozens of paint brushes...I want to paint leather purses and shoes...
Then -- I saw it -- buried on a table in the "B" building. They often have a second auction ring going -- with mostly the men's stuff. Tools, generators, automotive stuff...it's buried on a table. Can you see it? Because we are about to enter the Twilight Zone...

Yes -- that's right. It's a Louis Vuitton duffle bag...maybe...

Or is it? How can I find out?
Hummm...I wonder how smart my phone really is...

Random Fall Shots

Mother Nature can be VICIOUS..and the East Coast has been taking such a beating from Hurricane Sandy...the ocean surge...the flooding...the power outages...yikes...

Here in Iowa -- wé are delighted to be dealing with some very ordinary Fall scenes...I was looking for something particular, and found these pictures from last fall. The crops are mostly picked -- but we still see the occasional combine, cleaning up the last of the harvest...

No more flowers...just rocks and ceramic pigs in Ronda's garden...

Time to get out the warm sweaters and coats. Lilly loves to feed the chickens....John had to buy a new flock...

To all our housewife friends in New York and New Jersey......be strong....

Mother Nature

I love New York City. I stayed up late last night, watching the terrible scenes of Hurricane Sandy -- the FRANKENSTORM that smashed into the East Coast...
At 2:00 AM, watching CNN and the live coverage of the water pouring into the subways --I looked back at some of my visits to that beautiful city...

This is a random shot of me -- STANDING IN FRONT OF MACY'S. Right on the corner of 34th and Broadway.  This is one of the places I always say you MUST VISIT when you're in New York City because then, every Thanksgiving, for the rest of your natural life, you can watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and say, 'I was there"...


And we are all praying for you, our New Yorker, New Jersey, New England friends...you are as tough and smart as they come...we are with you in spirit, standing on that corner...

Be safe...

What is Art?

Here's my elegant friend Marion, enjoying an art museum...Hey -- ART comes in all different forms, people...

AND OF COURSE she knew there was the danger of a recycled-t-shirt-maxi dress...

In this case, I started out with THIS t-shirt...

Then -- my usual treatments...add a wild print...tone it down with some t-shirt fringe...

And -- TAKE A MIRROR PICTURE...

Yes.  This is art.  A.R.T. Dress.... (A Recycled T-shirt Dress)

Mate Factor

Ithaca, New York did what a lot of other cities did. They closed off their downtown area to automobile traffic -- creating a pedestrian mall. Obviously, I am no city planner -- but this plan rarely works. Here's what they forgot about Americans -- if we can't park, we won't go...

However, because I am traveling with my CANADIAN friend -- we finally DID figure out where to park -- and then we walked around the pedestrian mall...we pretty much had the place to ourselves...

All that walking wore me out -- so we went into the Mate Factor cafe. I wanted a cup of coffee...

And Marion ordered a "spelt waffle"....

The place was very quirky...as you can see, it felt like the trees were growing up to create the booths...

The guy at the counter explained that the cafe was owned by their commune...and the waffle was delicious...

It was only AFTER I got home -- when I couldn't remember the name of the cafe -- I went online to see if I could figure it out. Imagine my surprise when I found this website. Ithacans boycotting the Mate Factor cafe -- because they are objecting to the "cult" that runs it.

No kidding? Marion and I always say the same thing...and it certainly applies here...

Why would anybody write fiction? The truth is so bizarre, it will NEVER let you down...

Have Scrapple Will Travel

sEven though I live in Iowa and we are famous for our love of all-things-pork...WE DON'T HAVE SCRAPPLE HERE... So, having scrapple for breakfast is a treat I only get when I'm visiting Pennsylvania...and it is QUITE a special occasion.

On this day -- I was headed off for an adventure all by myself. My friend Kathy was in the hospital, recovering from her appendectomy...so I went to a local restaurant, based solely on their scrapple reputation...I had some tourist maps and books -- so I enjoyed my scrapple and planned my bonus day!!

With the help of my trusty cellphone navigator -- I WAS OFF...

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of my ACTUAL rental car. I had reserved an economy car -- but they didn't have one in stock. So I got beautiful BIG, nearly full size ALTIMA...it was such a pleasure to drive over all those Pennsylvania mountains...

One of these days, I'm going to post ALL THE TREASURE that ended up in the trunk of that car!! Really, really amazing...

MacKenzie Childs, #2

I do not know if I've ever visited a place -- a museum, a historic home, a private residence -- where EVERY SINGLE DETAIL is completely, 100%, all about one thing. At the MacKenzie Childs studio -- you will become immersed in ALL THINGS MACKENZIE CHILDS...

They have a little theater where you can watch a 20 minute film about the history of the company -- how things are made, etc...

BUT then -- if you are very, very lucky -- you'll be able to take an actual real live TOUR of the house which sits on the property. Every room is set up and decorated with MacKenzie Childs...

Of course, Marion and I could hardly wait to take that tour...

And that's where you get to see everything set up in a real house environment...how they attend to every detail is simply amazing...

I mean -- EVERY SINGLE SURFACE is decorated...

This is a "tile rug" in a small bathroom...each tile represents one year's design motif...

One of the NEW things coming out next year will be this Grandmother's Clock...

Which has an extraordinary bouquet of enameled flowers at the top!!

Marion and I took a minute to sit on the front porch. This is the picture I took...

Oh, yeah, people...it just doesn't get any better than this...