Jen's Choice

Goodwill wasn't part of my plan this morning but a small voice in the back of my mind urged me inside. I wandered aisles of castoff possessions wondering what treasure I might stumble upon. I don’t need more coffee mugs but I always look anyway, just in case, you know?

 

I scanned the shelf of mass produced mugs and picked up one with Disney character. It felt cheap and misshapen. My eyes fell upon a an obviously handmade cup, but it was clunky and uncomfortable. Then I saw her and knew right away that she was different. She is signed by the artist and even has a name. How sweet is that?

 

In November I signed up for an advanced wheel pottery class. It doesn’t start until mid January, but I’m just not there yet even though I’ve had my hands in the mud for years. I called and canceled last Friday. What I need is an intermediate wheel thrown class instead, and maybe that will happen in the next year, but the cup I bought today isn’t wheel thrown. 

 

On Friday nights my cousins and I do pottery together. Julie's husband has affectionately dubbed us "The Man Haters." We recently acquired a second hand electric slab roller from a retiring potter. Perhaps Jen's Choice, the cup I rescued from Goodwill, will be my inspiration to once again build some slab pottery. She’s so very beautiful. I really did find a treasure today.

Tuesday Treasures

Our drive south Sunday afternoon took us down Rt 19 through Fillmore and Houghton, NY where we saw a few old treasures. Outside the Fillmore Collision Services in Houghton were these two treasures, parked side by side and smiling.

I can't help but think of old children's books, and for some reason Lois Lenski's Mr. Small comes to mind. I don't think he drove a truck quite like this, but maybe one similar. (It's that kid in me again... Can't help it.)

On the outskirts of the town of Fillmore, on Rt 19A was this old building, along with another rusty relic parked outside, I know nothing of the building or its history, just found that it caught my eye as we drove by. The roof of the the structure had collapsed on the east side of the building. Another jewel lost to the the sands of time. I often wish, as we drive these roads through the countryside, that I could remember my childhood rides with Mom and Dad because we passed this way on our visits to Uncle Joe's house. Spin the clock back 45 years and what would this place have looked like?

Tuesday's Treasures

My grandchildren love treasures. Rocks. Feathers. Sticks. They are always collecting treasures of one kind or another. This assortment is from early June. Various leaves, flowers, and chicken feathers.

On Thursday I walked around the back of Barn 3 and found some new collections growing. Rocks (they love rocks) and chicken feathers (which they also love) on a concrete block table.

Beside the concrete block on the slab behind the barn was another collection. This one included rocks and bird nests.

I'm starting to love their collections. Perhaps a trip to the beach or the woods is in our future, and I think I'll bring an ample supply of Ziplock bags.

A collection of Tuesday's Treasures can be found at Tom's.

Tuesday Treasures

Years ago, when I was just a little girl, my dad had dreams of putting a Franklin stove in our house. He bricked the hearth inside with a pile of bricks that had once been part of a street somewhere.


My grandpa had his eye on Dad's dream too and he also had an idea. Down in Uncle Leo's garage in Angelica, NY was an old wood stove with the back burned out. Grandpa carted it home to his basement shop in East Rochester and started the task of rebuilding the old relic. One day when we stopped to visit he took Dad downstairs to show him. There it was in pieces, on the floor and stacked in boxes. "I don't know, Dad," my father said, "I've really got my heart set on a Franklin." We went home and Grandpa kept working. Several weeks later he took Dad to the basement again to show him the nearly restored treasure and ask him what he thought. He said, "Ya know,Dad, I think I changed my mind."

Sometime during the summer or fall of 1974 the Round Oak Duplex joined our family and took up residence in our newly converted living room. Dad spent many Friday's out "scrounging" dead wood and getting permission to cut it up (or down) and take it home. For years we spent cold winter days basking in the heat of that old wood stove, built with love and filled with it too. We didn't end up with the coveted Frankin stove, we ended up with something even better instead.

The old stove hasn't had a fire inside in several years now. Dad isn't here anymore to scrounge wood and keep the chimney clean.  Baseboard heat keeps the house warm and the Round Oak Duplex sits smiling patiently, waiting for someone to fill her belly and light her fire once again.

Join us at Tom's for more Tuesday Treasures.

Tuesday Treasures

Somewhere down in the Finger Lakes not too far from Naples, NY a friend and I found a rusty treasure. I'm not good with makes and models, all I know is that it's old and rusty and very cool. I like that it still had the license plate attached, but I'm undecided how I feel about the flowers under the hood.

Link up with Tuesday Treasures over at Tom's.

Tuesday's Treasure

It's not Tuesday anymore (I worked all day Tuesday) and my treasure isn't rusty, but it is getting old.

I dragged my box of old slides downstairs the other day, set up the ancient projector, and looked at a few old pictures. I was hoping to find a good picture of Uncle Joe's barn... In my quest, I came across an almost 40 year shot of my sister Priscilla and me. A rare candid photo taken by one of our parents on a family camping trip.

I found myself wondering what we were looking at. A book maybe? Whatever it was, there we sat side by side, our heads together, and I'm guessing, deep in thought and conversation. A precious moment captured in time. The kind of moment so many parents long to see between their children.

Visit Tuesday's Treasures with Tom for more old and rusty treasures.

Tuesday Treasures

They aren't rusty, hidden by overgrowth, or lost in the woods, but they are old and they are treasures to those of us who loved my dad. A small and treasured collection of journals and diaries giving us a glimpse into the boy he once was, the young man he became, and the father he grew to be.

The early editions were written in surplus army journals and tell of summer jobs for local farmers, a stay at an Adirondack Boy Scout Camp with his brother, their summer vacation, and his adventures on and around Irondequoit Bay. The first also tells the story of his fisherman pal grandfather and his battle and subsequent death of lung cancer. We were stunned to learn he and his grandpa both died of the same disease on identical date. September 28.

In later years my dad kept a diary. Little blips on his daily journey through life. Jobs. Girlfriends. A stint in the Naval Reserves. Family gatherings. Hunting trips. Talent shows. Meeting my mom for the first time... There was a time of quiet too. Nothing is recorded about his and Mom's wedding, the adoption of their first son, or the birth of the second, but he picked up writing again before I came along and the story of my arrival is there, along with my sisters a few years later.

Treasures. Sometimes I find myself curious about the years he chose not to record, and then I realize that some events in life leave us too tired and emotionally spent to write. I know some of the stories in spite of them not being journaled in a diary and I am blessed to have had a dad like him. The journals and diaries are great to have, but the real treasure was my dad.

Tuesday's Treasures with Tom

Tuesday Treasures

A treasure from the mountains of Pennsylvania...

Not far from the little town of Franklin, Pennsylvania, above the Alleghany River is the old Joseph Sibley castle. The Cabinet Maker and I were there for an adult church retreat back in early October. Out on the grounds we found this rusty old road grader. How's that for a treasure?

Tuesday Treasures

Farm markets and antique shops. I love them. Though I rarely make a purchase, I love looking. My friend Deborah and I were out to Hurd Orchards last October and found a few treasures lurking about. An old tractor graced the back lawn,, rusty and forlorn, yet undeniably attractive. One of the outbuildings held treasures of another kind. An old stove, rusty pie pans, lanterns, and forgotten shutters. Child sized chairs hung from the rafters, and several old steamer trunks waited in a corner. Treasures from days gone by.

Tuesday Treasures with Tom

(I'll be linking up when I get back home to my computer.

Tuesday Treasure (on Wednesday)

I am checking in a little late with my Tuesday Treasure entry. I was gone all day yesterday and had to dig up these photos in old files and folders. A few years ago the Cabinet Maker sold an old truck (back to its original owner) and as part of the bargain, gained an old 1948 Chrysler Windsor. He thought it would make a great project, but had severely underestimated the amount of time and money the restoration would take. It would have been fun, but in the end we decided to sell it. (I still love the photos.)

Tuesday Treasures

Tuesday Treasures

I am repeating an old post, so none of this happened yesterday, but the little carving I found in a drawer when we cleaned out my parents' house several years ago is still a treasure.

But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
Matt 14:24

It may not look like much, but yesterday I found a small treasure forgotten in a drawer. At first I thought it was just a broken piece of wood, but once in my hand, it magically transformed. I held the little boat and peered into the back of the drawer. Was there also a mast for the tiny vessel?

I am finding that it is really the little things that make me stop to think. The bigger pieces, like furniture, do not hold the same place in my heart that this small carving does. Once held in the palm of Dad's hand and carved because he loved both wood and ships. What looks worthless to some is priceless to me. I'm not quite sure what I will do with this tiny treasure. For now it is resting on a shelf in my living room, kind of like it once rested on the mantle behind Dad's wood burning stove.

More treasure hunting here.

Tuesday's Treasures

Two blogs because two-day is twos-day.
:0)

I have some treasures at my house. I bring them out for small children. This afternoon my small grandson needed a playmate while his mommy was cooking dinner. I figure if she is going to cook dinner, the least I can do is play with Spencer. Down from upstairs came a Fisher Price school bus and a few Little People. Down from the high-up shelf came the old Fisher Price Ferris-wheel. And then we had some fun.

Do you have any treasures to share? Tom is collecting treasures here.