Well 4 months in, I’m beginning to feel a new sense of normal, with a hint of my former self remaining.  Thank goodness I can wear my old clothes!  But with this comfort, I feel I can explore again.  We’ve taken a trip to Pennsylvania for an apple festival and one back to Texas to visit friends and family. But our spur-of-the- moment trip has proved most enjoyable.

Havre de Grace (no need trying to pronounce it with a French accent) is a quaint little port town right on Susquehanna River and head of the Chesapeake Bay.  It’s about an hour drive up from Baltimore.  We took the 40 instead of 95 for a more scenic route.  While it turned out not to be so scenic, I’m sure it was much less stressful than that awful highway.

First thing first, we had to stop at Waffle House.  I hadn’t had my fix since I left Texas and moved to Maryland.  Did it taste any different not being either drunk or hungover?  Nope, still gooooood.  After a waffle, double hashbrowns and two cups of coffee ( I still wanted more) we moved on down to the main drag, St. Johns.

She enjoyed sucking on her socks and a bottle for brunch. Maybe next time she'll be old enough for a bit of waffle.

We parked on a side road and saddled up.  I strapped toots on to me and the guys got the cameras ready (George picked out a few cameras from my Dad’s collection in hopes that some would work).  Dylan took the Oylmpus Pen-EE and George took the Realist 35 Rangefinder.

We first went into this collectible toy store.  It was more so a dude charging way to much for crap, so we moved on.  On the drag we found Courtyard Redux Book Store, and what a treat.  There are lots of old murder and sci-fi pulp books in the back.  Ruby was either excited by all the books or thought it was too quite so she started squealing up a storm.  It attracted the attention of the owner, Jack, who came to the back to see what all the commotion was about.  Jack fell in love with Ruby, of course, and asked if she has started making “raspberry” sounds yet.  Well, I don’t know what he did, but later that day she started, and it’s been non stop since!  We bought a Complete Book of Grimms’ Fairy Tales and David Simon’s Homicide (we’re hooked on The Wire, go figure).

We asked Jack where we there was some good antiquing to be had and he mentioned three malls:  Bayside, Seneca Cannery, and Bahoukas.

Bayside seemed like a mall that you could find a good deal at.   I found an amazing red upholstered mid-century swivel chair for $60.  I thought it was worth it but I had no room (maybe I need to take a lone trip soon).  My find of the day was a small Get Smart tin lunch box for $5.  It wasn’t vintage, but I didn’t care (picture to come soon).  It was neato.  There was a really good collection of Life magazines as well.  George got some Havre de Grace postcards to send to his penpal group.

Our next stop was Seneca Cannery, a higher-end mall.  The building space used to be, well, a cannery!  The wood floors are amazing but not necessarily good when trying to put a tired baby to sleep.  I found some cute sundresses but I was afraid they would be too small for Ruby next Spring/Summer.  I also found a pink and black plastic records tote from the 1950′s that could store 45s.  Now, I wish I bought it, but I at least should have taken a picture. 

After about 2 hours, my back need a rest, so Ruby was passed off to George, who lasted about 20 minutes.

We walked back up to the car and did a quick diaper change- no explosions, thank goodness.  We then walked down to the water so the boys could try out the cameras.

The last mall we went to was Bahoukas and it was by far the best.  I think all of us could have spent hours in there.  After I rocked Ruby to sleep I went in and rummaged through all the old toys, linens, and dinner/bar ware as best I could with one hand.  One lot, run by JoRetro, was exceptionally thrilling to me.

Upstairs there is a sort of beer “museum” with rows of old cans and books of bottle caps. 

The neatest thing I came across during the trip was this Devo pin.  Seeing as it was in a case, I knew the seller probably knew its worth, and sure enough, he was asking $35 for it.  I should ask Michael Pilmer of Devo-Obsesso the story behind these pins.

Before we headed back home, we stopped by the water one last time to try to finish up the rolls.

Turns out, that the Olympus Dylan was using works really well!  He got a lot of good shots.  I think it also inspired him to buy one of his own.  Maybe he has a new hobby.

Strangely, the rangefinder George was using only took one photo.  And it was in the very middle of the roll.  Anyone know why this could be?

The owl mobile for Miss Madeleine Gibson is coming along nicely. But here is where the difficultly begins – stitching all the pieces together!

So the past few weeks I have been stocking up on supplies while I patiently wait for your reply, as a dutiful daughter should.  My two main purchases have been from a fabric sale at Ikea and an Etsy purchase from Earth Gatherings.

ikea fabric overload

Now any suggestions on what I should with all this fabric?  More purses, more pillows?  Something new and innovative?

Abra

http://thestitchesbetweenus.wordpress.com/

The main drag of the area is called the Avenue and there you can visit various restaurants and shops.  The street has amazing antique malls even for the fact that this area is a popular venture.  There are some amazing treasure still to be found.

First thing I came across was this pristine fur hat from Germany.   It is a Chapeau -Dana Marte- Original.  Hidden under this tag is a smaller one saying this hat was union-made.  Nice.  And how much was this hat do you ask?  $16!!! what a steal!  While this hat looks stellar on my glass head, I can’t wait to bust it out during the cold Baltimore winter months.

George made his way to the maps and postcard section and found a little bit of “home” for me.  He came across some great San Antonio postcards circa the 1940′s.

This one is a scene of Alamo Plaza from another time and almost another place, as we said it doesn’t look anything like this anymore.  I bet my Papa remembers downtown looking like this!

But what’s even more great about this postcard is the note written on the back.  It reads:

Dear Earl,

I just ate lunch at Joske’s Cafeteria.  This is the largest department store in Texas.  M. [Marshall] Fields has nothing on it.  It is cold and windy today.  My black coat is just right.  Louis will write this one.

Love,

Anna

This card was post dated January 15, 1945, so according to the Wikipedia page Anna was probably eating at the store across from the Alamo (which is now full of tourist memorabilia shops and a Ripley’s Believe it or Not Wax Museum) instead of the space which is now Rivercenter Mall.

Another postcard he came across was one of an old picturesque scene of Brackenridge Park.  For us young ones we don’t have to think to far back to the days when you could drive through the wooded areas of the park and come out the other end onto Mulberry St., but I can’t remember any of the drive ways being this wide!

There is no date on the card and it is unused.  Could this be from the era of the famed alligator ponds???  I wonder if there is post cards of those somewhere…

The last great article I found that day was a 1960′s wool dress.  Again, perfect for the up-coming months.  This dress will be nicely topped off with my fur hat, leggings and some knee-high boots.  Currently, the dress has a bit of extra room in the back and looks a bit frumpy on me, so this is where my recent desire to become an excellent seamstress developed.  Hopefully I get to the point where I can take it in on the sides to make it a bit more fitting Mom, any suggestions?).  But, if not, there’s a tailor right down the road from me .

That’s it for great finds, but once I’m bringing in the dough, I know I’ll be going back.

First, a little background about this piece.

This soon-to-be pillow was originally a tank (?). I can’t imagine it being a dress unless it was for a five-year old. Anywho, this article of clothing signifies the start of my Ebay binge purchases. I bought it back in 2003 when I was living in Denton (TX) and I was spending money frivolously on things I shouldn’t have. Hey, I still do that! But at least here is proof I am renewing and reusing things .

Long story short, the last time I wore this was back in 2006. Needless to say, but I’ll do it anyway: my boobs and belly don’t look as flattering as they use to, so the Vespa tank had been put in the archives of Abra’s clothing history.

An interesting fact about the Vespa print is that it is actually WRONG. My scooter-riding boyfriend George pointed out to me that the kick-start lever is on the wrong side. Oh well =)

Time to make a pillow!

As you can see, I have taken the shoulder ties off, cut the lower portion (under the white trim) off, and unstitched the sides. Right now i have the frame measuring out to be 15 1/2 ” across and 11″ tall. This can still be adjusted from the bottom.

I am going for a patchworky feel, with my main source of extra material coming from my first ever barkcloth purchase back in, woah!, 2001??

I bought at Jive Refried (in the Southtown district of San Antonio) which was called Jai back in the day.

Can I also just say I love ironing barkcloth. It irons so well!

I have cut out several pieces and I intend to use other pink, grey and blue materials, but this is where I need your help.

How do I do this!?!?

Abra

My little plant of the new season!

I always find myself saying that I don’t like musicals.  Well that isn’t necessarily true.  It’s a deep secret that I don’t like to reveal too often, but here I am on doing it on the internet.  This is not to say I like ALL musicals.   Indeed I cannot stand most, but Cabaret, and especially the movie, is something special.  I love the seediness and honesty it reveals.  Set in a Berlin that doesn’t exist anymore, Cabaret dares to discuss the concepts of gender, sexuality, race, politics, class, fame and counter-culture.  In the movie, Fosse sets these themes to a gritty backdrop, rich with bold tones and coloring and the the music of Kander and Ebb (originators of that Broadway tunes and show). New songs were added to the film, including my personal favorite, Maybe This Time.  The match of choreography, cinematography, and editing is the absolute essence of a Fosse direction. 

Star 8o was Fosse’s last film.  Shot in 1983, the film depicts the tragic end of playmate Dorothy Stratten(played by Mariel Hemingway) who was Miss August 1979 and playmate of the year for 1980.  Fosse’s opening scene is that of Paul Snider (played by Eric Roberts) mumbling incoherently and pacing.  You’re a little unsure of what to think until his hand smears blood all over his face.  It’s a typical story of a young, naive and inexperienced girl falling for the first guy to come along.  However this guy, Snider, happens to be a jealous type.  Though it was through Snider Stratten gained her playmate success, Snider refused to deal with all the fame and publicity Stratten received.  It’s a story of “you should have seen that one coming.”  But, he did love her. Bah! Again, it is Fosse’s nuance that makes this such a great film.  He discretely places is choreography background in a Snider workout sequence, combining the movements and shots and cuts of weight-lifting, pushups and situps to music. The cuts of action shots to still of Stratten are also well crafted.

Both Cabaret and Star 80 encapsulate the harsh reality of fame and the desire that engulfs the people along the way. I have yet to see any other of Fosse’s films.  I hope that all I find brilliant about Cabaret and Star 80 I will find in his other works. My next one will be the somewhat autobiographical All That Jazz.  Ican already sense the reoccurring themes, so I have a feeling I won’t be disappointed.