This and That: A Blog

Skywatch Friday Just a pretty sky as seen from a parking lot. Have a nice weekend. 

 Light or Bright Colors for Thursday Postcard Hunt . A very colorful Africa in It's a Small World, Disneyland, CA on a vintage postcard. Psychedelic art surrounds a San Francisco cable car and flower stand.  Postcard naturally c.1960s!   For natural Bright Light Colors we go to Alaska for the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. Next week brings the new theme of Cities.  First up will be Asian Cities. 

 I haven't had much success finding treasures in weeks, maybe even a few months.  The local Goodwill stores have yielded nothing time after time.  Art has been especially scarce as far as original paintings or interesting prints. Plenty of mass produced stuff though.  St. Vincent de Paul has had loads of 5¢ postcards, but those are just not Tuesday Treasure worthy for the most part.   Finally I found two items at St. Vincent de Paul.   This is a Jeanette Glass Co. pressed glass Jadeite milk glass pig. I'd seen it in the case a few times, and eventually asked to see it so I could determine what it was made of.  I was pleased it was glass, and very happy it was milk glass!  You can see the fire in the thin spots, like tail and ears.  This is my first piece of Jadeite.  The Jeanette Glass Co. began production of this color (green glass scraps added to the milk glass formula) in the early 1930s, and coined the name. I've seen bowls...

 We've come to the end of Sunday Stamps and the alphabetical theme.  That means today's stamps relate to Z .  Z ip Code USA 1974 The five digit z ip code was introduced nationwide on July 1, 1963. Z odiac  Israel 1961 Libra, one of the twelve in the Z odiac I series.    Now that we've reached Z, what's up for Sunday Stamps?  Looks like an alphabetical theme again!  Great, there are so many options!  

 Lights in Windows is this week's Thursday Postcard Hunt theme.  State Capitol Buildings by night were popular postcard images. Georgia c.1930s - 1940s Indiana c.1930s - 1940s North Carolina c.1930-1935 Lights were always shining at the 24 hour Safeway in Jantzen Beach, on Hayden Island, Portland, Oregon... until 2018 when it closed.  Hayden Island is a popular shopping spot for Vancouver, Washington residents, as it's just across the I-5 bridge, and being in Oregon there is no sales tax! I was going to stop there, but got this Postcrossing one a few days ago from Ann Marie, and it fit the theme too perfectly not to include it.  The Light theme next week is Light or Bright Colors. 

 After buying two antique prints, these  steel engravings , both included here today as well, I took a look at the ages of my antique prints.  You hear the word antique  tossed around a lot, but what does it really mean?  It depends.  In the U.S., according to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, antiques are items at least 100 years old. Standards of value and insurance, and U.S. Customs use this definition.   With some exceptions, the UK follows the same 100-year rule, while some European Union countries use 50 years, and even 25 for certain categories. China requires government authentication for items over 100 years old before export.  So, if you're in the U.S., an antique is simply an item at least 100 years old. A few of my favorite prints are from the 1930s and 1940s, but they are not antique, only vintage . Vintage is 40-99 years old.    Retro  refers to new items made in an old style, reproductions that are not old ...

 The week hasn't started off well.  I just had my vehicle (I want to write "car," but it's an Explorer.  I don't like to write "truck," and "SUV" sounds ridiculous!) towed to the mechanic down the street.  Not what used to be called, maybe still are, a "shade tree" mechanic, it's a real business, just close enough to walk to and from.  Today I let the tow truck take it without me.  It's something with the brakes, there was a puddle of brake fluid under the vehicle when they moved it. This is why I have AAA.  I get my money's worth!    The Dollar Tree has spring gardening supplies and seeds in.  Hidden away in the back, not along the seasonal wall, where it's all Easter.   The seeds are more expensive since last year.  For years they were 4/$1.00, then last year were 3/$1.00.  I checked online and while the company is U.S. based most of the seeds are outsourced.  So, the big increase is most likely due to tariffs....

 This week Sunday Stamps takes us to the letter Y .   Y omei Gate Japan 1952 Y acht Australia 1983 Issued to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday and released on the actual day of her birth, the y acht shown is HM Y (Her Majesty's Y acht) Britannica in Sydney Harbor with the opera house in the background. Y outh Immigration ( Y outh Aliyah) 20th Anniversary   Israel c. 1955  Y outh Aliyah was, in part, a rescue and resettlement program that began in the 1930s (specifically, it was founded the day Hitler became Chancellor of Germany) to help Jewish children escape Nazi persecution and resettle in Palestine.  Today, Y outh Aliyah villages are educational institutions providing support and education.  One again, something new I've learned from stamps!  Next Sunday brings us to the last of this series alphabetically themed stamps, which of course will be Z .