I Want You Back

That's what I said when I saw this cobalt blue Panasonic Panapet radio at the antique mall yesterday.

I had one of these in 1970 when it first came out.  My sister had one in a different color, I can't remember if it was white, yellow, red, or green.  They had the whole line, one of each, at the mall yesterday. All in working order, in great shape, and the price was right.

I remember taking these on an Easter break trip to visit relatives in southern Michigan or northern Indiana (one or the other).  It came with an ear bud so I could listen to whatever I wanted, wherever, and whatever time of day.  I remember sleeping with it wedged under my pillow and listening to WLS out of Chicago before I drifted off to sleep.  Once back home, I listened mostly to WOKY in Milwaukee.  It was AM only. 

I don't know what happened to my original Panapet, but I know it was relegated to the back of my closet once we bought our woodgrain console Zenith radio that got—get this—FM stereo.  Far out, man!  After that, you didn't have to suffer through the snap-crackle-pop of AM playing the top 20 ad nauseum.  Album rock was in.  A lot has happened in 40 years!

Apollo 11 put the first man on the moon in 1969, and this radio was commemorative of that in its space age design.

Just for kicks, I looked up the Top 100 songs of 1970.  Talk about a blast from the past.  I won't tell you how much time I spent listening to some of these yesterday.  Some are long forgotten, others can still be heard on your garden variety classic rock or oldies station.

Here is my sister and I on that trip when we first got the radios.  I'm on the left.

This was one of the songs I was listening to on my Panapet in 1970.  Michael Jackson was just two years older than me at the time, and I (and millions of others) thought he was all that!  Now if I only still had my brown suede fringe vest!

It's the Weekend!

It's finally the weekend, yay!  It's rare that a weekend means no work for me, but things are somewhat more flexible.  I have to figure a way to get done what needs to be done and have some play time besides.  Norm wants to go bumming, but I have my H2H quilt basted and ready to quilt. What to do?  Likely a bit of each.  Maybe I can work in a trip to the fabric store for more batting.

The bowl that holds my basting pins was made by my daughter in art class probably 10 years ago.  During her abstract phase, ha.  I love it, and it makes me think of her unique, creative, funny spirit whenever I see it.

Thankfully, the crankiness of a couple days ago passed fairly quickly.  In the meantime, I've been reading about the primal way of eating, thanks to T. of Bending Pins, who put a bug in my ear.  It's intriguing.  I've got a couple books on hold at the library on the subject.  I sure do love my carbs (the ones I can still eat), but we'll see.  In any case, it doesn't hurt to find out more about it.  I am not a fad dieter, btw.  Whatever changes I make to eat better I would like to think I make for life, though I may fall off the wagon now and then.  So I have to weigh whether a major overhaul in eating habits is really sustainable for me in the long term. 

These two books are on my nightstand right now.  Both have me quite engrossed.  What are you reading?

I saw this little vintage mod clutch purse for sale by Apron Thrift Girl recently and knew it had to be mine.  It's so pretty!  I can see making a cool little wall hanging based on that pattern of the three rectangles.

Well, the hubs is circling like a border collie, wanting to herd me on some distant thrift shop adventure.  I'm off to Google for nearby fabric stores, if any.

Have a great weekend!

No Sugar Coating

Hi.  You know what I'm doing right now?  I'm NOT baking that chocolate cake I so want to, and NOT then frosting it with chocolate frosting, and NOT eating at least two large pieces.

Woe is me.

This giving up sugar business is making me cranky.  Or it could be PMS, or a combination of the two.  Anyway, I am craving and crabby.  Stay out of my way.

Now, that's not completely true.  No one needs to stay out of my way, because in real life, what I do is hole up in my office or bedroom or sewing room when I'm crabby.  I take myself out of the mix, so to speak.  Maybe turn on some music.  Eat something junky (but not today).  It's too hot to walk tonight.  There's a heat advisory, which is a convenient excuse that works for me.  I know I have a treadmill inside a home that's air conditioned to within a degree of igloo status.  Shaddap.

In a little bit I will have to saunter back over to work for a while.  I'm waiting until all the cars are gone from the parking lot though (see, holing up).  Also, I don't want to talk to anyone about the file I was working on recently that has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared from the computer and, by extension, the face of the earth.  

I swear I didn't eat it. 

So add a little anxiety to the list of things a chocolate cake would make, at least momentarily, all better. 

Did you know V8 contains sugar?  I have polished off a six pack of V8 this week and only tonight paused long enough to read the label.  There it was, SUGAR, for crying out loud.

I also had some Grillin' Beans the other day, which I should have known better but was in denial, apparently.  They were really good.

However, I did NOT use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce in the sloppy joes last night, like I usually do.  At least they're up front with "Sweet" being the first word in the product.

I did find some new music I liked today.  You know what made me click on the Amazon link to the CD?  The title, "Strings Much Better Left to Fray."  It's a line from the song, Here and Now.  Don't be put off by the band name, this is a melodic tune.  Give it a shot, you may be surprised.  And I promise, no hidden sugar. Now that's sweet.

Update: Went for a walk at sundown. Had some watermelon. Feel better.

Care to Kaleido?

I joined the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along at Don't Call Me Betsy.  

I've wanted to make a kaleidoscope quilt for quite a while.  Over the past several months, I have bookmarked some favorites for inspiration, bought fabric...

...made a couple test blocks with scraps and a cardboard template.  I even have a killer name picked out for this quilt (talk about putting the cart before the horse).  

But that's as far as it has gone. 

I know, I know.  I have several quilt tops to quilt and other projects in the hopper, but when I stumbled across this quilt along, it seemed the perfect time to s--- or get off the pot, as the saying goes.

I am equal parts stoked and scared.  Since I'm going to try some crazy fabric combinations, it could be awesome or it could get ugly.  In any case, I'm sure it will be interesting and fun.

How about you?  Care to kaleido?  Head on over to Don't Call Me Betsy.  Fabric requirements are discussed here.  Cutting instructions will be coming on June 23.  There is a Flickr group too! 

Sunday Sundry - Vol. 35

It was a lovely day for a flea market.  We got up bright and early and drove about 40 miles to a little town that buzzes with swarms of junk shoppers in its city park every Saturday.

It is quite a lively place, with everything from Amish baked goods and attic treasures to Chinese imports.   Hand crafted, home grown, or ready to haggle over, you can find it here.

This time I went for something new, a bowl from a local potter.  I've got a soft spot for them, and a growing collection (of pottery, not potters).

Norm found an old radio.  It's not working at the moment, but it looks like it could with a little tinkering.

Not a decent piece of Pyrex to be found at the flea market, unfortunately.  So I hit the local Goodwill when I got home.  Check out this mini piece of Py!  

So cute, and it won't take up a lot of shelf space.

I guess the whole world knows Pyrex is collectible now.  Goodwill has raised its prices on it.

They apparently haven't gotten the memo on this stuff, though: 

I seriously had a OMG, this is too good to be true! moment.  Or, as Vonlipi would say, Start the car!

Eva Zeisel Hallcraft:  Awesome.
Finding at Goodwill for 49 cents:  Priceless!

I am no expert on Eva Zeisel, but I recognized the name from some reading I had done last fall, after I bought a couple pieces from the Town and Country line of Red Wing pottery, designed by Zeisel.

This is a piece from the line of dinnerware she designed for Hall in the 1950s.  This particular pattern is called "Fantasy."

Wouldn't it be fun to try quilting this design?  That is, if I could figure out where it begins.

I am not even sure what the function of this dish is.  One replacement china site calls it an open sugar bowl.  Another calls it an individual creamer.

Whatever it is, it's beautiful.