Vintage craft bonanza

My Mother in Law came over this morning for breakfast (mmmmm, home made eggs benedict with panfries made with fresh-from-the garden potatoes and herbs, thanks Hubby). The plan for the day was supposed to be the Moss Street Paint-in but Hubby and I are sissies when it comes to the stuffy weather (turns out there was a nice breeze most of the day and it would likely have been fine) so after talking it over with the others we all decided to hit up yard sales instead.

We got some great stuff.... a new game table (folding card table with a handmade top that includes a chess/checker board), a slot car race set for Kiddo, some movies, and other odds and ends.

But, the best find of all was an armload of Tri-Chem Liquid Embroidery stuff from the seventies. Included were two carry-cases, loads of paints, two catalogs from 1973, canvases (most untouched, a few completed, some with instructions) and some maintenance tools and instructions.

All for a buck.

The best thing was a blank green "velvet" canvas printed with a pattern that looked familiar -- a flower arrangement in a copper teapot (similar to the daisies above). I couldn't get a good photo of the canvas and it didn't come with instructions but it doesn't matter; I have another that my Mother completed back in the day. All in all, even if I never use the paint, it was totally worth the trip down memory lane. I have also added the catalogs to my mental "to be scanned" pile.

And, just in case you were curious, Tri-Chem has been made since 1948 and is still available.

Of cabbages and kings

(Well not really but that was quoted on the wall by our booth at Floyd's 2 where we had lunch today.)

First, since I know you are all on the edge of your seats -- I did bike to work and back on Thursday and again on Friday. Thursday took me exactly 30 minutes from my back door to the bike racks outside the library; home took about 25 minutes because more of the trip is downhill. On Friday the trip in took about 27 minutes and back about 25 again. So it's safe to say that I need to allow at least half an hour each way. Yay! Bike to Work Week is on approach so I will try to keep cycling through the next two weeks and see where I am at after that.

Even though I was exhausted, I did get outside to plant the strawberries and water all the garden areas last night, but that was about the extent of my activity. Oh, except I did also take a bunch of photos -- not that it takes a lot of energy to take photos :)

Today, we slept in somewhat, then went out in search of garage sales -- the first two were non-sales and one was just a bunch of toddler toys. Actually, there were tons of toys and baby things for sale today but we didn't come home empty-handed. We got some little folding stool/table things for the living room, two deck chairs, and a little planter set for outside, a few other little things, and Hubby found another ornament to zombie-up.

Today was also the first full day of the Moss Street Market for 2009, so we went and got some seedlings, some fresh, tiny donuts, plus some veggies and focaccia bread. As if that weren't enough, it is also Free Comic Book Day so we stopped downtown where there are three stores in one block. Between the three of us and the three stores we got a fair haul:

Now we are home where I am about to tackle some movie reviews and other web updates.