Star of the Sea Rummage Sale

Yes, people are still talking about the

Star of the Sea Rummage Sale!

The annual event, held in the catholic school gym, just concluded with "free day" last Friday and I went no less than 5 times in 4 days. I must begin by saying that the volunteer ladies who run the sale are vintage classics themselves. Completely adorable. Above is just a small portion of my finds.... my favorites: the Peterboro picnic basket, two absolutely perfect vintage rattan lamp shades, silver iced tea spoons (this score triples my tiny collection!), loads of vintage sheets and linens, two super fab homemade vintage housewife dresses, vintage patterns, a vintage ice bucket and soooo much more.

I probably spent, all told, $25 in my 4 day rummage spree. But even better than the deals, it just got me jazzed. Downright giddy. I actually left the house early before work (unheard of) to get in line on the first $2 bag day! This will be an official annual event in my life and is just a delicious slice of small town goodness.

That lil' bit of treasure-seeking adrenaline created a small creative storm of which we shall see the fruits of soon... because this beautiful machine below and I have once again, made friends after a somewhat lengthy fall-out.

fits & starts... so true in so many areas of my life and happily I'm in the midst of a sewing fit!

a sweet holiday weekend

The long weekend was as sweet

as this Oregon strawberry...

strawberry muffins and skillet jam were made

long walks with the husband and dogs were enjoyed

fireworks over the river were witnessed...

and a new annual tradition was born:

St. Mary's Star of the Sea Rummage Sale, oh my....

But more to come on that.

her inspiration

Original art by Richard H. Dawson. All rights reserved. 

This image is the complete view of my current profile picture, a mixed media done by my father, Richard H. Dawson (1948-2001), titled "her inspiration", one of literally hundreds of works of art that came to be mine upon his passing. I adore this painting and in sadder times, her image has brought me much comfort. The simplicity, use of color, graphic boldness, the sadness in her eyes and background text all draw me in...

One great thing about being 41 now is that I have those fantastic 70's shots in my collection... and this is one of only 2 photographs I have of my father and I while I was a child. The only other photo I have with my father was taken when I was 12 or 13. The photo shown here was taken in Eugene, Oregon, likely in about '72 or '73. The home, on 13th street, near the University of Oregon campus has long since been torn down. As my only memory of a childhood visit with my father, what always sticks out in my mind is that he seemed SO tall to me, and as basically a stranger to him, I was indeed both excited to spend some time with him but also a bit scared. So, imagine then how that little girl felt when she walked into the house and the original version of Frankenstein was playing on TV! And throw in the fact that he had Great Dane at the time!! See, that's the thing about my dad though: he always made a big impression on all who came in contact with him and it certainly was no different for me. As a pre-teen I began the slow process of getting to know him and over the years we became very close. He always told me, as a young woman, that I was "his greatest masterpiece" yet he was also always careful to never take credit for how I turned out, acknowledging he hadn't been the father I needed. We loved each other very much and losing him is still, nine years later, a shock to my system.

On a lighter note... this blog was inspired in part by an apple a day, one of my very favorite blogs. The day I found her blog a good couple hours suddenly disappeared while reading her archives and I always eagerly anticipate her future posts. For one, she loves old things at least as much as I do. She shares about her family, their country home, treasure hunting, her creative work. There is a simple, sensitive and somehow raw sensibility to her photography and writing style...