Calico

Calico, calico - another of my favorite fabric patterns. I like it in all colors! But I admit to being partial to red and yellow:
Bright green is pretty, too:
And I like these stuffed ornaments I found at a thrift store:
The red below is a napkin, the pink is a remnant - I will always buy a pretty calico remnant from a thrift store!
Adorable - a red pig and a calico cat in yellow, to make with McCall's pattern #2187. You could probably find it on eBay:
And here's another Calico Cat (with the Gingham Dog!), from a 1973 Seventeen magazine:
More calico - even seam binding. The red is a huge valance that as free at a thrift store:
If you don't want cute animals, then I suppose you could make this funky angel or stuffed eggs. I don't think I want to.
But, oh, I DO like these dresses in calico jersey from a 1970 Seventeen Magazine. Both from "Charlie's Girls":
My friend Debbie had a red and yellow calico dress back in 1971:
And I had a yellow one! (I LOVED it- and I think I wore it until it fell apart!)
And I can tell you I wouldn't have minded owning this pretty ensemble from Jennifer Dale back then! (From 1970,also)
Three years later, in 1973 - Better Homes and Gardens had these patterns you could send for (from Burda Patterns of Germany), so that you could dress your little girl in calico, as well.
And calico is STILL popular, isn't it? Well, even if it isn't, I still love it anyway.

What's Penny Wearing? #21

Oh, let me count the ways that I love this gorgeous vintage paisley maxi-dress that Penny has on today!!

I'm sad to say: it is not mine. It belongs to Tina.

In a bright and beautiful phantasmagoric spectrum of paisley loveliness, with it's tiered skirt, it calls my name....
(softly)...."Heidi, Heidi, keep me 'borrowed' and take me out, please....somewhere wonderful, please.....have fun wearing me, please...... I deserve to be seen, appreciated, and admired....."

Did you hear it, too??

Plants I Know and Love: #2 Hollyhocks

Good morning. Gold Country Sis Tina here, running a bit late. I am blaming my computer since it is old, slow and I only have dial up. But better late than never as they say...

This blog is about my Hollyhocks. I love them. They are easy to grow, tall, beautiful. I grow them every year. They are perennials, so they give off a great display of flowers for two years and then they die back, but that is okay, because they have put out so many seeds during their short life that they have fathered many more little plants to take their place

The plant above is a "volunteer" hollyhock which came up in the middle of my compost bin in my orchard. It is a red single old fashioned hollyhock and is unbelievably beautiful. This past summer was it's last year and I got hundreds of seeds from it. There are also all kinds of little baby volunteer plants coming up around where it grew that I will transplant to other places when I get the chance (i.e. recuperate from my surgery!) But they will grow happily where they are until then, because they are hardy little buggers.

This is a closeup of my lovely compost heap volunteer.

One more shot because it was so lovely and I appreciated it so much. The only problem with it was I didn't get to use my compost for two years because it was growing smack dab in the middle of the whole bin.

In front of my house I have grown several lovely kinds of Hollyhocks. I tend to like the old fashioned single types the best, but I have grown the doubles and also the shorter type, if I like the colors.

Above is a lovely double Hollyhock. It is one of the shorter variety.

The dark hollyhock shown above was one of the prettiest I've grown. I saved seeds from it but haven't been able to recreate the same color yet.

These yellow/white hollyhocks were quite showy. They also were very prolific with seeds.

Unfortunately for me, and the hollyhocks, deer love to eat them. At my house, they like to wait until there is a beautiful display of flowers that I want to show off to my neighbors and friends. Then they come in on an early morning and eat every last one of them, except the ones they can't reach. But they also pull them down and eat them if they can. They also like to wait until the seeds are just ready for me to harvest and then eat all the seeds.

These hollyhocks tried hard to be out of reach of the deer, but they too were eaten not long after I took this photo.

This beautiful pink single is trying to grow behind a fence but the deer stick their heads right in and have a snack. They can stretch a long way, and they really like to eat hollyhocks!

In spite of the deer, the hollyhocks and I keep trying and some years we get a great display. Sometimes I only have a couple of plants that survive, and other times I have a wonderful display for at least a few weeks. This year was not a good year for the hollyhocks. It was a great year for the deer.

This red single old fashioned hollyhock was lucky because it was far enough behind the fence to survive.

Next year I will try again, and I keep hoping for a fence around the house so that I can have a nice flower garden that isn't just grown for deer fodder. I have a lot of little volunteer plants waiting for my convalescence to end so that I can transplant them around the house and yard. I am looking forward a great display in 2010.

Then And Now #54 Diamond Walnuts

Diamond Walnuts from California today. Mmmm - the brownies look good in this advertisement from 1954:
And so do the candies here, from 1955:
Brown Sugar chews, from 1956 - YUM:

Combine the Diamond Walnuts with Toll House Morsels, and make "Kookie Brittle" - or just make traditional Toll House cookies!
I like their ads, it's nice to include recipes, don't you think?

And below, Diamond Walnuts and pecans "Now" - as in "these are in my baking cupboard right now":

Ready for some holiday baking!

Disneyland Records

I'm sharing a few of my Disney records with you today. "We're the Mousketeers, and we want to say hello..."
I don't think any of the Mousketeers will be at Disneyland today, but I will! We're on our way this morning - Lori, my friend Debbie, and me. I don't suppose we will see Spin and Marty, either...
And I will forever miss my beloved Carousel of Progress, with one of my favorite Sherman Brothers tunes "There's a great big, beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day.." (I'm glad they still have it at WDW, though!)
But we WILL get to ride "Alice in Wonderland", and the "Mad Tea Party"!
And I am REALLY looking forward to the "It's A Small World" holiday overlay, and the beautiful colorful lights on it at night:

"There's a great big, beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away!"

Thrifted Wearables

It sure is a lot more fun to shop for clothes now that I can fit in to smaller sizes. And finding nice things at reasonable (or cheap!) prices makes it even better! First up, a nice Woolrich shirt in a nice autumnal print, a pretty leaf pin (on the blouse) and some brown suede boot/shoes that I LOVE. I just saw a very similar pair in the September issue of Real Simple magazine - the same brand as mine, Aerosoles, for $89. My price? $1.99!:
You may or may not like my Granny Square vest/jacket - that's okay with me - I like it, and I'm the one who will be wearing it!
I found a nice Liz Claiborne Ultrasuede (?) shirt/jacket in a pretty butterscotch color, and a green turtleneck:

I didn't have anything with an animal print but now I do! A pretty blouse:
And I found a nice scarf, a "pearl" necklace, and some black boots, too! The boots were $1.99, also.
And another nice shirt, a floral print in great colors for fall:

I'm loving adding my latest "thrifted wearables" to my wardrobe.
(I have found pants, as well - but I cannot get Penny to model them! She insists on wearing only skirts and dresses.)

I Love Frog And Toad

These are a fabulous series of books about Frog And Toad, who are friends. Arnold Lobel really hit a home run when he wrote and illustrated these delightful volumes. In the beginning, there was "Frog And Toad Are Friends", 1970:

I fell in love with his characters when I saw this story, "Cookies", published in Woman's Day Magazine in 1971. I don't know if you are familiar with the story, but Toad has a little problem with willpower. ( Just a bit of personal information: I AM Toad. His struggle is my struggle).

"Cookies" is from this book - "Frog And Toad Together", 1971:

"Frog And Toad All Year", 1976:

"Days With Frog And Toad", 1979:

If you are not familiar with these delightful collections of stories, please check them out.
They're not just for children, you know!

Red Plaid

I've written about Pendleton before - but today, here are a couple more advertisements featuring red plaid. There's just something about a nice red plaid that I really like, whether from Pendleton or somewhere else.

Love the red shirts, love the robe:

Love the jacket and the blanket, too:

I also like this red plaid skirt and the matching hat from 1964 (not Pendleton):

And I even like these shoes! From a 2007 Family Circle Magazine:

This is a plaid flannel remnant from a thrift shop, and some pretty vintage bias trim that I believe can be called plaid, as well:
And these are two of my favorite flannel shirts. I love to wear them around the house in the winter time. The top one is from J.C. Penney, and the bottom is from L.L.Bean. I wore them when I delivered mail, too. (Rural carriers don't wear uniforms.)

And here is my vintage jacket (which I guess is actually a men's jacket, the buttons are on the right - but what's up with those front pockets?). And it's not from Pendleton, either. The red vest beneath it is one I've had since high school - I know that you are not surprised. It just happens to match perfectly. The blanket in the background was an eBay purchase.

And I purchased that blanket simply because I do love a nice red plaid.
And that completes my red plaid post for today.
Thank you very much.

Our Sister's Heart

We don't usually write a lot of personal stuff on here - but I am making an exception today, because this is pretty important! Tina had open heart surgery on November 4th. She is doing VERY well, and she is now at home, working on her recovery. Lori and I went to see her at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento on the 7th.
Here we are, the three sisters:
And Tina and me:
I took her a little present. The book is about Stevie and his tonsillectomy, but still...
Stevie had it WAY easier than Tina!
We love you, T - and your heart is still just as big as ever. And now, it will be able to function better for you!!
Here's to keeping all of our hearts healthy and happy for many, many years to come.

Ethel Phegley's Painted Tiles of El Dorado Co Scenes

Good morning. Gold Country Sister Tina here. I want to share some of my favorite finds.

These are very special hand painted tiles of historical buildings in El Dorado County, some in Placerville, and a couple close by in Lotus and Coloma. They are colorful and well painted, and I am delighted to be the owner of them. They were painted by Ethel Phegley, and I am unhappy to say I know absolutely nothing about her. I would like to learn more about her someday, because her artwork delights my senses and brightens my life. I am not even sure how old these tiles are, but perhaps they are from the 1950s or 1960s.

I found the first two on ebay probably about 10 or more years ago. I collect almost anything pertaining to El Dorado County history, and I love art, so I was thrilled.
I live very nearby to these Chinese structures in Coloma, California, and pass by them often. One was apparently a bank. You can still look inside and they have furnishings and contents which could have been there in Gold Rush Days.

This old store, the Adam Lohry Store, in Lotus, California, now houses a restaurant. It looks much the same today. Lotus is just across the South Fork of the American River from Coloma, and many rafters drift by there in the summer. They also have a great Folk Music/Bluegrass Festival there.

This is a closer look at Ethel's signature on a tile. As an artist myself, I am telling you, please

always sign your artwork, even if you don't like it yourself. Someday someone like me is going to love it, and you want them to know who painted it! Be proud of your artwork!

After I got the two first tiles, I was on the lookout for more, and about 5 years ago I found this tile above, and the one below. The house above is what is now known as the Bee-Bennett House on Bee Street in Placerville, and houses a nice restaurant called the Sequoia. It is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a little boy, and there is a cemetery across the street.

This is a tag that is on the back of the Bee-Bennett House tile. I believe Ethel herself lettered the tag.

This second tile that I found 5 years ago is of the Placerville Shakespeare Clubhouse on Bedford Avenue in Placerville. It is a place that is near and dear to my heart, since I just became a member of the club this year.

Below are four tiles which I just recently purchased from another seller on ebay. Two of them are of buildings which have been torn down in Placerville, and so their images are even more dear to me. I do remember the original buildings from when I was very young.

This is the Ivy House, which stood on the corner of Main Street and Clay Street in Placerville. When I was young it was mostly abandoned except for a barber shop. It once housed an academy and later a restaurant/bar.

This is the Cary House on Main Street Placerville, once known as the Raffles Hotel and also Hotel Placerville. It is still standing, fortunately, and still serves as a fine hotel. Come stay sometime! Heidi once worked inside this building. A friend of mine made beautiful large stained glass windows of El Dorado County scenes which you can view in the lobby inside.

This lovely old brick church is no longer standing at the corner of Main Street and Cedar Ravine.
The older wooden structure to the right has been moved up the hill and restored. This brick church was also known as the Methodist Episcopal (ME) Church and housed a fine organ which is now at the county fairgrounds.

This, my final tile (as of now, anyway) is another of the Bee-Bennett house. I guess Ethel thought the house in the other tile looked lonely so she added people and flowers.

It is my fervent hope to find more tiles by Ethel, and to someday learn her story. Are you still out there Ethel? Did you paint more tiles?

Then And Now #53 Laughing Cow

How now, Laughing Cow. I LOVE this stuff - and I have to admit that I did not even know it existed back in 1973, which is the date on this advertisement.

But the one that I always keep on hand is this one - Babybel Light. It is one of my favorite go-to snacks:

And then, there are the spreadable cheese wedges. This ad, too, is from 1973 - and I never heard of the stuff back then. Of course, I wasn't exactly spending my time checking out the cheeses at the grocery store, either! They may not have even carried it at our local Safeway , and Daddy did the shopping anyway. He wouldn't have bought it - we were more into cheddar cheese.

But "Now", their Light Original Swiss is one more thing I can truthfully say is ALWAYS in my refrigerator. Another favorite snack, I love it with celery, with 100 calorie pack crackers, and even as a spread on a sandwich or a bagel instead of mayonnaise or cream cheese.
It's really good stuff.
(And no, I don't get paid or anything like that for writing about the products I buy and love. I wish I did! I don't imagine our little blog has enough readers for that type of thing.)

What's Penny Wearing? #20

Today, Penny Lane is channeling her inner hippie , wearing this great vintage caftan, dress, or whatever you might want to call it:
I really love this one:
I always thought I'd hem it, or have it hemmed, but I haven't. It was made for a taller person. Penny is lucky, her height is adjustable.
I suppose mine is, too, in a way - depending on my footwear, you know?

Autumn Leaves

I found some pretty images featuring leaves in my vintage magazines, and I just felt like sharing them.
The leaves of autumn can be so beautiful! Perhaps you enjoy walking through them down a country lane....
Or maybe you're a bird watcher?

But then, when you have to rake them, they truly seem never-ending, don't they? These little girls probably didn't have to worry about that - Daddy or their older brother more likely did that chore:
If you don't have enough of them outside, then how about a carpet of them inside, as well?
And you can even use them to decorate your table:

I like that simple but pretty setting, don't you?
(The artwork in the first illustration appears to be signed by Bowles - I am sorry I could not find any additional information nor the first name of the artist. No name on the second illustration that I can see. I try to give credit to the wonderful artists when I am able!)

P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins

I've written before about Disney's Mary Poppins, but today's post is just about the books themselves, written by P.L. Travers. I collected them, too. Let's begin with Mary Poppins, first published in 1934. Mine is a 1962 reprint:

Mary Poppins Comes Back, 1935:

Mary Poppins Opens The Door, 1943:

Mary Poppins In The Park, 1952:

Mary Poppins from A-Z, 1962:

This little Mary Poppins is a Disney one, though. I bought her on eBay. I love the vintage figurines that were sold in the parks. Most of them now have kind of funny-looking faces that don't appeal to me:

She's a cute one, though!

Oh, Fudge!

As if having leftover Halloween candy wasn't temptation enough ,we have also just plain had fudge on the brain here in our house lately! I've been thinking about the all different types of fudge I could make for the holidays - more "flavors" than my usual standby chocolate with walnuts or pecans:
I get a kick out of this ad - um, yeah - lower calorie fudge because you use Pet Evaporated Skimmed Milk to make it. Oh - okay, right, sure...
I might try this peanut butter fudge:
Or a "Fudgie Scotch Ring" - looks pretty, sounds yummy!I have instructions from my husband to bring home some fudge from Disneyland later this month. But, we couldn't wait, so he brought home some from here:
From Nelson's
Columbia Candy Kitchen - fudge, in chocolate and peanut butter:

We were still working on that fudge, and then one day, we both ended up going to Yosemite Fudge Company in Sonora and buying MORE fudge - each without the other one knowing! I thought he wanted me to go get some, and he had decided to go himself and wasn't able to reach me on my cell phone (I left it in the car!) to tell me he'd already gone, so then I went and bought more! Now, we all know I am on Weight Watchers - and we now have WAY more fudge in this house than two people should.
This is NOT a good thing.

More Finds

Just a few more things I've found recently. Great artwork on this Saturday Evening Post cover from 1933. Looks like a "Miner 49er" to me!
Sweet vintage cookie jar, I call it the Happy Train. You'd be happy, too if you were filled with cookies!
Unfortunately, the lid on this one has obvious repairs. Oh, well- still cute!

I found some more Rubbermaid dish racks. A large yellow one, and two other pink ones to go with this one.
Also, two restaurant china platters in great shape. I can't pass up great restaurant china!
I love this turkey napkin holder, and the cornucopia table runner was a quarter! And I found a stacked set of yellow cups, a gold creamer, some little brooms, and another lovely platter:

I love this sweater in a gorgeous robin's egg blue color:
And one more sweater, just right for fall, from J. Jill.
And two more LP's - found a Herb Alpert one I didn't have!
And a "Great One" with Jackie Gleason's picture on the cover. I already had one or two of his albums - but not one with his photo on it. I'm so pleased when they have the plastic covering still there, having kept the album cover in wonderful condition! I have VERY fond memories of watching his show with Daddy - it was one of his favorites:

Always looking, always happy to find good deals!

Luna's Post

Good morning human persons. I am Gold Country Sister Tina's cat Luna. You met my brother Chessie last week, so now it is my turn. You can see how lovely I am. I am in my prime at five years old, don't you think? I like to pose near anything blue, it brings out my eyes.
I was born in Garden Valley on the Georgetown Divide. I have a cute story around my adoption by my human family, too, just like Cheshire Cat. (Well maybe it isn't so cute having to have a bath in the kitchen sink...) My Mom Tina wanted to have another cat, because not long before I was born my older sister VW had passed away while my Mom was holding her. She was pretty old, so it was her time. Anyway, my Mom wanted another cat, but she thought maybe her husband, my now Dad, wouldn't be so happy about it. So she thought she would bring me home while he was gone away on a backpacking trip, and then when he got home just kind of let it be a done thing. Only the problem was, he didn't leave on Friday night like he was going to. So I got secreted up the stairs and into the bedroom and I was trying to be really quiet so he wouldn't notice me and be mad. All was going pretty well until all of a sudden, he confronted my Mom and stated with great fortitude "You are hiding a kitten from me aren't you???" The gig was up as they say. Anyway, I was so tiny and adorable he didn't get too mad, and luckily for them I got to stay and make my home here in Kelsey.

I really like cuddling up on a nice unmade bed with lots of pretty colored blankets and throws to show off my coloring. When I really want a good sleep, though, I like to push my way under a blanket or a pillow or a bathrobe or anything like that and sleep in the dark. The only problem with that is sometimes I get sat upon. Not for very long though...

I am a mighty hunter, and like to spend time outside with the gophers and mice and rats and lizards, and when I am done I bring my catch up to the mat outside this screen door, and show it off. Just this evening I brought a present for my Mom, a really dainty little mouse. She is always really proud of me, and let's me know with lots of loving and always calls me her "pretty girl".

After all that praise I like to come into the house for a bit, and then I go back out and eat my catch. My Mom doesn't ever want to eat it, which I don't understand because she likes chicken and fish and so on, but not the little fresh things I catch with hair and tails. I don't want all my hard work going to waste. When I was really really little my Mom's friend Denise used to think that a hawk or an eagle was going to fly off with me, but fortunately that never did happen. They wouldn't try it now, because I am a good eater and I would be too heavy. But I am NOT fat. After I get done with my meal I like to sit in the same window that Chessie sometimes sits in, and I clean myself off well so that I stay adorable, and watch the birds and sometimes knock stuff over just so everyone knows I am in charge, and then I snuggle under something or on top of someone for a nap.

Then later Chessie and I will both go out for a romp outside, but as you can see, we like to go our separate ways.

To Sir With Love

Today is Lulu's birthday.
I love this song!

Happy birthday, Lulu!
(I prefer the pop version of the song that is on my 45 to the version from the film that is on the video, but still.)

What's Penny Wearing? #19

Penny is warmly wrapped up in my favorite fall jacket today.

It was a Christmas gift from my husband last year ( I picked it out!), and I love it. The hat belonged to my father-in-law - it's mine now, and I found the gorgeous scarf at Ross, if I remember correctly.
I LOVE the green plaid, in a nice soft cotton flannel.

My Trip To Puerto Vallarta

Sister Lori here, I wanted to tell about my recent trip to Puerto Vallarta. I have been before and so have most of my friends that I went with, who are all ex postal workers, except one poor soul who still is working there!
We like to stay in the Romantic Zone where the Malecon walkway along the shore is, and we can walk to shopping, restaurants, grocery store, etc. So except for the Taxi from the airport, we walk to everything! Our condo this year was Molino De Agua, brand new last year and it was very nice. We were on the 8th floor and the view from our balcony was great!

This is a view of the infinity pool from our room. It was wonderful to swim in and lounge by. I read 2 books while there! There is a swim-up bar where a restaurant nearby will deliver to us drinks and appetizers.

Here is the master bedroom which I was lucky enough to get to sleep in.

One of the outdoor balconies, the other had a built in BBQ and small refrigerator:

There was a large beautiful kitchen. We did not cook much as we like to try the restaurants out! Although we did make our own Pina Coladas and Margaritas a few times!!

We did little shopping while there, last trip too much money was spent so we were thrifty this trip!!

One of our favorite restaurants is Andales where we enjoyed mango margaritas and guacamole, chips and salsa.

This is a photo of all 6 of us plus a friendly waiter!!

We stopped to watch some iguanas feeding:

A beautiful sunset!

Another favorite restaurant is Archie's Wok. This was my dinner, a sweet and sour chicken dish.

One dessert was a lime cheesecake, I had a molten chocolate brownie with vanilla gelato. Yum!!

Another night we found a new restaurant that will become a favorite called Joe Jacks Fish Shack. I had these fish tacos.
We had a wonderful week there, but had to return home and back to the grind!!!!