Py, Oh My!

Don't you just love it when you're junkin' and round the corner to another room, and there it is.  Pyrex!

Lots and lots of Pyrex!  You hear the angelic choir in your head singing, "Aaaahhh!"  

I love when that happens.

But then you approach the shelves closer and start to see price tags.  "What were they smoking?" price tags.  Ridiculously high price tags.  Suddenly, the sound in your head becomes the loser music on a game show, "Wah-wah-wah..."

I hate when that happens.

In the interest of full disclosure, this wasn't a thrift shop in Red Wing, Minnesota; it was an antique mall.  Even still, the prices were much higher than the antique malls at home.  I didn't buy anything here, but I enjoyed gorging on the eye candy, and I brought some home for you, too.  See, I was thinking about you.

Fortunately, I had plotted out a map to a Salvation Army thrift store on the opposite end of town, so we made our way there.  The Pyrex pickin's were slim, but I did snap up this beaut for $3.00.

It's a Gold Acorn oblong space saver casserole #548, 1-1/4 quart size.  According to Pyrex Love, it was manufactured from 1960-?  Very nice condition too, no chips or cracks.

In Winona, I found these two little treasures.  A Bluebird promotional 1-1/2 quart casserole with serving caddy (1959-1961) and a Pyrex Pink Flamingo 8-oz individual round casserole with lid.

On the way home, there was a fabulous Goodwill store in Onalaska, Wisconsin—clean, bright, not smelly.  But most importantly, there was some nice, gleaming Pyrex for cheap.  Under two bucks for this coffee carafe!

Ninety-nine cents for this clear #501 refrigerator dish.  I think this may be an early one (1950-1952) because the Pyrex stamp on the bottom is round, not square.  No lid for it though.  What do you want for $0.99?  

I also bought a random Pyrex lid (no pic) for the round casserole I will find on some future day that is missing its lid.  You know you're in deep when you buy the lid in advance!

That was the extent of my Pyrex adventures on this little road trip.  Next up, a bit more about Red Wing...pottery that is.  For more adventures in Pyrex, visit The Pyrex Collective, and for more vintage fun, check out Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady!

Further On Up The Road

If you're a blues fan, like me, that title may bring to mind a great song.  In fact, I'll put the YouTube link below.

But what I'm talking about today is further on up the road on our little getaway last week, wherein I visited a couple of quilt stores.  The first was a neat place in Sparta, Wisconsin called Quilter's Corner.  It was in an older home with two stories of fabric and a basement of finished quilts, table runners, purses, etc. for sale.  Found a pattern and some black & white FQs.  



Also bought some FQs of this fabric, but the designer's name escapes me at the moment.  Someone remind me, if you recognize it.  I really don't remember.  Anyway, I liked it a lot!  (Edited to add: It's Sanibel by Heather Mulder Peterson.  Thanks, Jenny!)



Leaving Sparta, and even further on up the road, we stopped at Rather Bee Quilting in Lake City, Minnesota.  Another great shop! But first, here's what our driving view was off to the right for much of that leg of the trip.  



This is a view of the Mississippi from Hwy. 61 somewhere between Winona and Lake City.  I think it may actually be Lake Pepin we're looking at below.  These fishermen were friendly.  They waved right after I snapped their pic.



I bought two half-yard cuts of black & white fabric, another pattern, and a yard of this cool red/black/white print.  



Then Norm found something he liked.  I bought a couple yards of that.  I'm thinking it'll be worked into a Christmas present for someone we know (and I hope he's not reading this!).



The backdrop for the fabric pics today is the new flooring.  Also, here is an update on what the bathroom walls look like for those who have asked.  Sorry about the dim lighting in there.  We still have to get the new lights mounted.



This is what I was working on today—the first coat of who knows how many on the bathroom cupboard.  



Tried spray painting it yesterday (fail). So I had a quart of enamel mixed today and am brush painting now.  I need to get  this done so I can get back to sewing soon!

Honey, I'm Home!

We're back from our mini-vaca, feeling refreshed and having had fun cruising through the middle/western part of the state before heading north along the Mississippi River.

On the recommendation of friends (Kathy, as well as Keetha) we ventured first to Wildcat Mountain State Park.  

Now this is Wisconsin and these are hills, not mountains, but awesome hills nonetheless.  

We hiked a few different trails that afternoon, huffing and puffing (and oohing and aahing) our way up, down, and around on leaf-covered, narrow paths.

We scavenged a couple of walking sticks along the way, which were crucial to our survival helpful.

The views were spectacular.

That's the Kickapoo River down there, which would be fun to canoe, were we of a mind to do so.  Instead, we were of a mind to walk.

Hey JKP, did you know there was a Mount Pisgah here too?  I thought of you.

The road winding through the park was fun to drive.  I thought of the video that Keetha had posted on her blog.  I'm sure it'd be a blast on a cycle.  I was driving a Toyota though.

A great oldie from Rare Earth came on the radio as I was navigating the curves, heading west.  Talk about the perfect driving music! 

Try this:  Click to play the first video but mute the sound on it.  Then, simultaneously, click the second video for the music we were listening to on our drive. Watch the ride and enjoy the music!

Sunday Sundry - Vol. 10

It has been somewhat of a wild ride this week.  Not as wild as this ride, though.  

This military M-ATV, or bomb-proof truck, made a stopover in our neighborhood.  The driver hauling this vehicle, which is probably bound for Afghanistan, was spending the night at the local Super 8 and parked his trailer on the street.  These are built here in the state at Oshkosh Truck.

An Open Letter to My Sewing Machines
Dear Jane, Tammy, and Viv:
I miss you guys.  I'm sorry we haven't spent much (any) quality time together lately.  As you probably suspected, I've been otherwise preoccupied for the past week or two.  Her name is Bathsheba, aka the half-bath.  You don't know her, but it's just as well.  She's kind of a pushy thing.  Got wind of the new flooring that's coming and demanded an immediate makeover.  She had a point, though, dressed as she was in some funky striped outfit circa 1985.  Trust me, you would have been mortified.  I was embarrassed for her, so what could I say?  It has taken some doing, but I've gotten her out of her old getup and into a modest blue number, and her attitude has improved.

Tammy, I know we were on a roll with the cute little clutch purses.  We'll make more, don't worry.  You do the best zippers, and you're so easy going.  Your feet are a breeze to change, no screwdriver or swearing involved (always a plus), and your bobbin winds right there in its case with the push of a button.  And you're quiet and undemanding.  If I forget to oil you, you don't even raise your voice.  I know you're a product of the '60s, but we've got to work on that.  It's called assertiveness.

Viv, you deserve at least a new dust cover for all the time you've sat on the sidelines.  You're a real trooper and another quiet non-complainer for being "of a certain age," and I mean that in the nicest way.  You know I love your mid-century aesthetics.  You may not be able to zigzag, but your straight stitch is to die for, and you're a great piecer.  We'll get together again on a project, just the two of us, I promise.

Jane, you've seen a tiny bit of action for the free motion quilt along, but less than an hour once a week is not much of a relationship builder.  You're the newest kid on the block and a little fast and loose at times, but I like your spirit.  We'll find our groove with this quilting thing.  I'm going to keep working on it.  Meanwhile, if you could straighten out your bobbin tension issue while I'm away, that'd be fabulous.  Heaven knows I can't seem to figure it out.

Hang in there ladies, I'll be back soon.  Bathsheba's days are numbered.  In the meantime, try to keep the cobwebs away!

XOXO
P.

In Other Home Wrecking Improvement News
We're kicking up an awful dust here at Casa de P.  

We had a big tree taken down and then stumped, decimating my flower bed in the process and putting a rock through the siding in two places.  

The projectile missed a window and all my Pyrex on the other side by about 18 inches.

Baked Apples in Vintage Pyrex!

Fortunately, we had some extra siding, and they fixed it.  As for my flower bed, we'll just have to see what comes back next spring and go from there.

Indoors, the bathroom ceiling has been painted.  The walls have been washed (twice), spackled, primed, and painted (twice).  I have thus become intimately acquainted with every facet of my toilet and the underpinnings of my sink.  Yes, I think "Ew" is a perfectly apt expression here.

Today I pulled off the baseboards and register covers in the kitchen, hall, and two closets, and let loose a herd of dust bunnies.  In a more rare sighting, Norm was spotted using both a hammer and a screwdriver in the same day.  Many things have had to be temporarily relocated.  All of this because the new flooring is going in on Monday and Tuesday.  I will be glad when this is over and order has been restored. 

Getting Out of Dodge
Norm and I are planning a little road trip.  If anyone knows of any awesome fabric stores on the Mississippi River side of Wisconsin/Minnesota, let me know.  We also brake for thrift stores, antiques, and pottery shops.  I'm looking forward to taking in the scenery and doing some treasure hunting along the way.  

Sunday Sundry, and probably any other posting, will be on hiatus for the coming week.  See you all back when the dust settles!

Favorite Things Friday - October Sky

It's Friday, and that means it's time to link up with Favourite Things Friday at Quilting in My Pyjamas.

One of my favorite things is the October sky.  

Maybe it's the changing colors that draw the eye upward.

Or the ever morphing weather patterns—warm and sunny one day, twenty degrees cooler the next, frost on the pumpkin at night.

I took all of these photos during the past five days. 

Words seem unnecessary.  Just enjoy.

Take some time to gaze at the sky this weekend.  Thanks for visiting!