This and That: A Blog

 I was early to an appointment so stopped in a the Goodwill at the other end of town.  Finally, some artwork worth buying!  Finally, anything worth buying.  It's been pretty dismal at the Goodwill stores for a few months. This was an instant " Yes !" as ravens are a member of my favorite bird family,  Corvidae. " That's So Raven ," a silkscreen numbered (4/10) print by local artist Kassia Zegzdryn (Jackaloop Design).  $4.40  It's pretty big, and the colors brighter than this looks.  Postcards From the Edge I  (The Leaning Tower of Pisa) and Postcards From the Edge II ( Cathedral Santa Maria de Fiore, Florence) , paper collages by Melissa Markell .  Titles, dates, and signature of the artist are on the backs.  Of course these caught my eye with the word " Postcard ."  The artist uses vintage ephemera and her own handmade paper in her works, which sell for more than I expected.  Only one had a price sticker, and I suggested...

 Once again, an assortment of things.  Golden King of Siberia , but the ants got into it, so all I got was a bite in the garden before I threw it out.  It was yellower than this photo looks.  There are more to ripen, just not so big.  I am getting Sungold  cherry tomatoes, and a few small  Pantano Romanesco , with larger ones growing. This small praying mantis ended up on me when I was picking bush beans.  A few days later a smaller brown one did too.  But, I didn't notice until I started to come in and wondered what sort of leaf I had stuck on my shoulder (I could see it out of the corner of my eye!).  I thought it fell off in the house, but it had moved to my other shoulder.  So, I went back outside and had the wise idea to shake out my hair!  If fell off my head and was fine. I like them, they are very beneficial, but not on my head!   At the park I saw these empty bird's nest fungus "nests." And these fungus....

 This week the Sunday Stamps theme is Rivers. I have three oldies.  Well, two oldies, one is a teeny bit younger than I am!  Australia 1934 - Centenary of Victoria   The Yarra River, Melbourne, and a Yarra Yarra tribesman, a term used by early European colonists to refer to the   Wurundjeri people of the Yarra River Valley. Russia 1959  The Chusovaya River and the Ural Mountains  Jamaica 1938  King George VI, Priestman's River in Portland, King George VI, and what look like pomegranates, but are citrus, representing the massive export industry of the 1930s. Next Sunday will be Geology.

 

Thursday Postcard Hunt has us hunting Boats this week, the second in August's Travelling theme.  These vacationers are traveling on an Excursion Cruiser on Idaho's Lake d'Alene.   Visitors have been traveling on the replica Mark Twain Riverboat in Frontierland, Disneyland, since 1955.  This was one of the original Disneyland attractions, and is still paddling the river. The original sternwheel traveled the Mississippi River.  Our mail sometimes travels by boat.  This boat is a floating post office with its own zip code, 48222!  J.W. Wescott II ,  a mail boat on on the Detroit River, Michigan, delivers mail, packages, and other items to ships while they are on the river.  Cars can travel on boats too.  This is the Passenger and Auto Ferry on Lake Erie, Ohio.  As a child I love auto ferries!  It was exciting to have my father drive onto a boat, and park the car.  We'd then go upstairs to enjoy the view. I believe most of th...

 Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Monochrome   I disagree with Paul Simon, everything doesn't look "... worse in black and white, " some things look so much better!  My brother, Bret, who we lost unexpectedly last year, and me.

 Yet again, more St. Vincent de Paul 1/2 price ephemera!   These two old joke cards are not postcards.  Both date from around 1915-1925. " Scotch " is now used to refer to the whiskey, but it used to refer to the people and things from Scotland . The note on the back, " I'm still butlering and being dignified as usual ," is probably a joke as well.  I did get postcards, quite a few since they were half-off.  Most were antique and only 38¢.    Here is one special birthday postcard.  1918 The bird lifts up for the birthday message.  I also got some unused WWII military humor postcards. These are five of them. Is it just me or does this fella look a lot like Bill Dauterive (Sgt. William Fontaine de la Tour Dauterive) from King of the Hill?   It's like they based his character's looks on this postcard!  At last, that's all for the 1/2 collectibles sale.