This and That: A Blog

Giving you a break this week from the ephemera!  Here are some items found a various spots around town. Japanese earthenware from 1955-1965 from St. Vincent de Paul.  Not a big bargain at $5.  (So much glare from the windows...) A cast concrete froggy who looks like he's enrapturedly praying to his froggy god (or he sees his beloved passing by).   He's from the Goodwill Bins. Salt cellar with cobalt blue glass insert and period-appropriate spoon (not original to the cellar) from St. Vincent de Paul for $4.  The garland motif, ball feet, and openwork design were popular around 1880-1910.  The liner is possibly German or Austrian.  Its deep blue protected the silver from corrosion caused by the salt.  The spoon is marked “850 S" which is Continental silver, 85% silver.  Sterling silver is 92.5% and marked 925. The spoon is also most likely German or Austrian from the same date period.   The frame is not marked, it might be s...

  Cee's Fun Foto Challenge   The Crayola Box of 8 - Blue

 For this last week of Thursday Postcard Hunt 's theme Color of Spring we're hunting for the color  Blue .  From the Porcelains Collection in the Hebert Hoover Presidential Library, West Branch, Iowa  Lake George , Georgia O'Keefe, 1922 Blue Forget-Me-Nots  To My Sweetheart , postmark 1910 Next week is May, and the new theme will be Parks and Gardens. Up first will be National Parks. 

Garden Miscellaneous   Lovely plump sweet wild blackberries! Virginia Creeper berries are turning earlier than last year.  That doesn't necessarily mean an early winter, although it can.  It can also be a stress response to heat and drought as a survival mechanism.  I'd love cooler temperatures, but not an early winter! The berries can be eaten by wild birds without issue, but can be harmful to humans.  The berries and leaves contain oxalate crystals which can cause swelling of the tongue and throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and in rare cases difficulty swallowing or breathing due to the swelling of the throat.  Good thing they taste bad and children don't want a second taste!  Pet birds, particularly parakeets, may have reactions as well.  European Paper Wasp These invasive wasps made their first appearance in the US in the 1970s in Boston.   It's thought they arrived in cargo or packaging material.  They are aggressive to the nati...