An Antique Show - Oh No

Yep.  And it was a BIG antique show too, with over 400 vendors.  Hold on to your wallets!

We were at the Puyallup Fair grounds by 10:00 on Saturday morning, and it was already pretty crowded.  Most of the shoppers were of the antique sort, too, like us - gray haired.  As one woman we talked to at lunch said, "We're the only ones with money to spend", and I guess that's about right. I do feel very fortunate to be included in that group, because I know there are many people of all ages who are hurting.  

There was one thing that I was actually shopping for, an old umbrella stand that would work on my new hearth as a container for fireplace tools.  It needed to be tall but slender.  

I found one.  It's a 1920's Peters and Reed pottery piece that fits the bill and looks good with my pottery collection.

 And I added this 1935 McCoy Birds and Cherries pitcher to my collection.

I have looked at this McCoy cookie jar many times.  We had one when I was a child, and it was old then, but it disappeared when my parents moved off the farm.  I would never have paid full price, but the vendor wanted to get rid of it and offered it for $35.  Done deal!

But.... when I got home and was unpacking my treasures, the head/lid was missing!  I had no contact information, so there was nothing to be done but to go back this morning.

We thought the show opened at 9:00 and that's when we arrived, but the Sunday opening was at 10:00, so we had nothing to do but walk up town and go for coffee.  Oh, too bad.

After the opening, we found the vendor and reclaimed the head of the clown, and then browsed a bit more, since there were very few people.

I found these candle sticks for $3.50.  I thought they would be lovely with spring flowers floating in them. Or they might make a nice gift.

 I bought plate holders so I could get my old baby plate collection displayed.

 Tom had his eye on two things, but we left yesterday without them.   They were an old wall clock, and this Zia pot. We already have four antique clocks - Tom loves them - so today we bought the pot.  It probably dates to the 1940's, is not signed, but has the great colors, shape, and the Zia bird/roadrunner.

 It looks great with our little collection gathered on our New Mexico trip last fall.

 As I was passing another booth this morning, a postcard caught my eye.  It just proves that some things never change.  How's this for fitting right into the political discussion of the last few weeks?  I guess they are not part of the 47%?  They probably had a very good union pension.

 Postmarked in 1953, it's being sent from Florida to Ohio.  Talk about relevant states!

At least they saw the humor in it!

Old stuff is fun.

A Space Mission

It was early release Friday again for the kids, and the perfect day for a space mission.

The new space gallery at the Museum of Flight in Seattle is having its grand opening tomorrow.  Members and guests could get a sneak preview this week.

We picked the kids up from school a few minutes early and whisked them away to the museum at Boeing Field in South Seattle.

 Irene consigned me to be her official  photographer, so that she could have photos to document her visit when it's her turn at school to be "In the spotlight".

When we walked into the gallery the first impression of the Shuttle Trainer was "it's huge!".

 Seattle didn't get one of the three surviving shuttles, but instead we got the trainer,  a wooden model that was used by every astronaut to train for missions on the real shuttles.  The good thing about this trainer is that you can actually go in it.

But you can't "go" in this.  It's a model of the shuttle toilet.  Apparently it is the most asked question.

 This gallery was funded largely by a benefactor, Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft program developer and billionaire president of his own software company.  Charles Simonyi is a space enthusiast who has twice ridden into space on a Russian Soyuz space craft.  Here is one of his capsules.

 While the crew cabin is by tour only, with a minimum age of ten, and a $25 extra fee, the  payload bay is open to all.

 Outside the trainer a video console lets you try to land the shuttle.  After one crash, the kids made two successful landings.

 Irene likes the EVA suit.

 While we couldn't go inside the cabin, a virtual tour let us see just what it is like.  Irene was miffed about not being able to go in, but decided this was almost as good.

 This unit is the Galley, the kitchen.  Eating did not take up much of the valuable space on the shuttle.

 Irene loves control panels.

 I should mention here that Jill raised her kids on space shuttle missions.  They never missed a one that flew in their short lifetimes. If they couldn't watch live, they recorded the launches, the landings, and the mission activities.  They are space cadets for sure.

 And a little spacey on the bridge back to the main museum too.

 We had snacks at the cafe, and then Tom and Isaac went to see the WWI and II planes, and Irene and I went to the other space wing.  Here she's looking at the view through the window of Sky Lab.  I think we were over Baja California at the time.

 At the shuttle gallery we watched a video of the lead up to the explosion of the Columbia on reentry over Texas, one of two shuttle disasters.  Irene decide then that she didn't really want to go into space after all, but piloting an airplane might be OK.

 Or maybe working in the control tower.  Either way, there are lots of lovely control panels.

 We crawled around some fighter jets before finishing at the gift shop.

I have orders from Miss Irene to make prints of all of the "good" photos.  I think I've got it covered.

It was a fun afternoon.  Then we met Jill at Red Robin and treated everyone to dinner.

Living Life

It's half time of the Sounders playoff match, currently being played near Salt Lake City.  I thought I might take the time to post a blog, but about what?

We've been watching a lot of soccer the last two evenings, two matches yesterday and two matches today.  This is the last of this round of play off matches. Seattle will either advance or be done tonight.  If they advance there will be another match at the stadium. I hope that happens, but it's cold and dark out there now.  Soccer has a very long season.

The rain has given us a reprieve this week and we have used the opportunity to get the fall clean up done in the yard.  We finally finished today.  It was a lot of hard work, but the beds are now cleaned up and ready for leaf mulch.  A truck load of leaves was delivered today from a yard service company, happy to dump a load here free.  Tom will get them spread out when he recovers from the cold I gave him.

I don't know who gave me the cold I got last week, but it was probably one of the grandkids.  I am a very healthy person, and I can't remember the last time I caught a cold.  This one was very light.  Tom is not so lucky.

While I am healthy, I do have my issues.  With all of the yard work, I activated my back problem, which causes leg pain.  I have had some very bad nights trying to get to sleep and stay asleep.  Sometimes I just dread going to bed.  Last night was better.  Maybe sleeping will improve.

It's getting cold here - not freezing, but daytime temps in the low 50's or lower.  Today I made a big pot of soup for dinner.  I had some ham bones left over from a ham we had sometime ago that I had stuck in the freezer.  I used them to flavor lima bean, cabbage soup.  It was delicious, and will provide a few more meals this weekend.

Oh, the soccer game is back under way.  Time to sign off.  We're just busy living life.

Election Victory!

I am very pleased with the results of the presidential election.  

As I write this, several states are still in dispute; not called yet, but with president Obama ahead.  It looks like we will avoid the law suits and challenges of previous years.  We can be ready to move forward.

Unfortunately the Obama haters have been hard at work, spewing their venom. I swear if they can't find any real dirt, they just make it up.  

How does this bode for the next four years?  Will there still be a stalemate in Congress?  Will we as a nation be able to make any progress?

I have confidence in Barack Obama.  I trust him.  I believe he has the welfare of the American people in mind as he makes his decisions.  

He's going to need our help.

Worship

I went to church today

In the cathedrals of Crystal Springs and Crestview Parks.

With a golden dome overhead

And aisles paved with gold 

Both bright and burnished,

And pillared porticoes aflame.

A hill climb brought me closer to heaven

And the bowl of gray sky

Where the open air sanctuary
Provided air moist and mild
And light from living lamps.

The music?  Pure summer.
Beach Boys and The Beatles on the iPod
Supplied the rhythm to match
My swinging armed stride
Taking me over four miles 

In a circuitous loop 
from home and back again.

And left me refreshed and renewed
After a nearly sleepless night.

Amen.

I do confess that since I did not carry a camera with me, I did go back by car to capture these photos to share, and added another mile to my walk.

Fall Back

The season is officially Autumn, but is often referred to as fall.  

The reason is obvious.  Leaves fall, at least here in the temperate climate that comprises most of the US and Europe, where most of our customs came from originally.

It's kind of sad to see all the beauty fade, and fall.

But we move on.  

Today Tom had his yard watering system flushed, ready to overwinter.

 There were geysers in the back yard.

 Compressed air is pumped into the system, one zone at a time.

Fall is the time when the Sounders soccer season draws to a close.  Last night we were at the stadium for the first playoff match, which ended in a hard fought 0-0 tie.  They play next Thursday near Salt Lake City.  We'll be watching that one from the comfort of our recliners. No rain ponchos needed.

Today we attended the Grand kids' soccer matches, as the rain held off.  It was another opportunity to get out and enjoy the beauty of fall.

Don't forget to set your clocks and "fall back" tonight.