Solo traveling

I'm a list person and always have been. I get way more done and things don't fall through the cracks. While on my mini vacation here is Carmel I sort of winged it. Yes, I packed art projects (usually too many) to do while here. Most of the time none of them get done but I have them just in case! 

You would think with all the cookbooks I buy here I would be cooking up a storm. The kitchen isn't great for cooking and isn't stocked tool wise for it either. When my family is here I bring everything a cooking kitchen should have. But with just me, I meal prep ahead of time so I just have to reheat or add a salad dressing. One thing I started to do was pop into Whole Foods and splurge on something. It's my version of going out to eat. :) 

 I wasn't sure what was good my first time there, so I watched an employee who was going on his lunch break. He got. Tikka Masala (at least I think that is what it was) over saffron rice. Now that's my go to meal. Then I go to the cookie bar or by the slice pie case so see what looks good or interesting. It was a bust this time with nothing looking tasty. 

To change things up I did take my lunch to Lovers Point by the Monterey Bay  Aquarium. It was a beautiful sunny day to watch the waves crashing over the rocks. Can't get a better view than that!!!

Hag Stone Find 2024

I'm really trying to get 10,000 steps in especially walking while I'm at the beach house. I'm not a morning person by nature and now that Annie isn't here to get me going at the crack of dawn I wouldn't leave the house until noon if there wasn't a reason to get out the door! Walking along the beach I'm always on the look out for things to collect. Sea glass, sand dollars, shells and hag stones. 

Not sure why these rocks with holes in them are called hag stone - who comes up with these name? The story goes if you look through them you'll see a fairy or goblin, can't remember which but some mythical creature. Hag stones aren't common so it's always exciting when I find one. The hunt is the best part as I have no plans to do anything with them. :)

Love & Lemon Everyday Cook Book

My light reading for Sunday

Tomorrow is the Big Sur marathon so that means the whole town will be over flowing with runners. Some small business are shutting down for the day because of the race. So knowing that I'm not going to get to drive anywhere, I visited my favorite used book store at the local church. I stocked up on some light reading aka cookbooks. There was a box of yet to be put out books on the floor and they let me go through it. I saw this Love & Lemon Everyday book that is a fairly recent (2019) release. It looked like another fluffy type of book from influencers who have a YouTube channel, not saying that's a bad thing.  I almost didn't put it in my pile but the graphics caught my eye. I don't like the mash up of graphics used but it did me wonder who they were.

The one recipe that caught my eye was the Japanese Udon Hot Pot for Two. She uses a donabe pot, which for a non Asian cookbook is unusual. The author doesn't use an Instant Pot or Crock-Pot, which I have to give her points for.  She doesn't go into any details how to use it and it's not on a flame in the photo. I think it's just for show and more trendy than using a soup tureen. Really how many people have a donabe pot in their kitchen? Still I'm going to try a few of her recipes, as they say the proof is in the pudding.

Sad Church Rummage Sale

Carmel Rummage sale

I hiked up to the local church's rummage sale.  I thought they would have more stuff. Even if the volunteers and church members cherry picked out the good stuff, there still wasn't a whole lot there. Was it worth the hike? Not really but it did add to my total steps count and cardio. :)

Embroidery on an epic scale!

This is something I've never seen before and it was a nice surprise. I saw this as I was getting ready to walk out of the Discovery shop in Pacific Grove. This isn't a thrift store I visit very often as things are way over priced. At first I thought it was a photo or painting but it's really embroidered! I'm pretty sure it's machine done because the stitches are very even and tight. If someone did do this my hand, they are scary good with a needle. The price is $175.00 each, a little too high for my budget. :(

Salad Dressing Pitcher

I popped into Goodwill yesterday and picked up this creamer. I really like this pattern (Noritake) because it like a modern version of the flow blue china. 

Thought it would come in handy down at the Carmel house. My daughter likes to make fancy salads with homemade dressings. Normally she tosses the salads but for those who would like extra dressing this will work. It also looks stable enough to handle whatever the boys decide to do while at the dinner table. :) 

Morning soft jazz wall screen 

Another Egg Plate

Made in Portugal 

Savers has a 30% off senior discount day every Tuesday. Of course that is the day I try and shop. :)

This vintage chicken egg plate just cracked me up. I did have to walk around for a few minutes deciding if I should buy it. Chicken art never goes out of style so I went for it. 

From all the dirt and grease, you can tell it hung on someone's kitchen wall. 

Egg plates aren't big sellers but this one would make great kitchen wall art!

 

Ice Cream Brownies Test Run

I had a craving for brownies. I think the box of brownie mix in Buzz's pantry started it all. :)

I justified making them because I thought, well I know the boys will love them. I've always liked ice cream cookies so why not make ice cream brownies? I had to do a test run and it didn't work out. Tasted fine but very, very messy to eat. It's not something I would give two toddlers in the house with white walls. Next time I'll use a higher fat ice cream and make sure it's frozen solid. 

Update:  Left them in freezer over night and it turned out!  Still have to find a better vanilla ice cream but I'm happy to do the research on that!

Jazz

While I'm babysitting Buzz I have access to his super sized TVs (yes they have more than one) and several cable stations. They fill the entire wall. I came across this jazz music station with several really cool backgrounds. If you know me I'm not a music person at all. I don't even know when a different song comes on that's how tone deaf I am. :)  

It does make a nice change to have music playing in the background with these calming images and I think Buzz likes it too!

Swung Vase Score

This is the only the second time I've found a "swung" vase in the wild. It's a very trendy item right now so they get snap up quickly. The taller ones sell for $$$ when you can find them. 

A donation came into the Happy Dragon and it was just a gold mine of very cool vintage stuff. I'm not sure if this swung vase was part of that donation as it was separate from the boxes I was unwrapping. It was like Christmas as everything in that box was what I call the good stuff. I didn't get a chance to take pictures as getting everything out on to the floor was the priority. 

Estate Sale

For many years I didn't go to estate sales. It just makes me sad to see someone's things being picked over. Now I only go to high end estate sales (nicer things) but I rarely buy anything. The prices are way too high to resell but still pretty to look at.   

There was one down the street from Buzz's house so I was more curious about what type of estate home it would be. This home had one of the biggest pool I've ever seen at a private home. Only thing I picked up was this dutch shoe as it sells well for me at Cottage Crafts. I like to do a blue and white theme in my booth and I've been planning on switching it up. 

I may go back on Sunday when things are usually 50% off but just to see what didn't sell. 

Lessons in Chemistry

People complain that the volunteers at Happy Dragon get first dibs on the good stuff. That is sort of true but it's only because we're there all the time.

Today this book came in and the volunteer who handles that department asked if anyone remembers who was asking about it. None of us knew but I questioned why someone wanted a book on chemistry.  She said this book was made into a movie starring Brie Larson. While I'm at Buzz's house I have access to many cable channels, Apple TV  being one of them. I thought I would check it out. I was very surprised how good the show is. I'll be binge watching the show since I'm only here for another week. :)

Toadstool House

Ben & Holly House

The "gnomes at home" project last year was a big hit. The downside was the wooden houses couldn't handle the damp Carmel weather and all remodeling the boys tried to do. This was an impulse buy at Savers ($2.49) but I liked that the door rotates around. 

It has two compartments but the only down side is how small they are. Since Henkie doesn't like chocolate (I know, it makes me sad) I have to come up things the boys would like that would fit. 

Abalone

 bowl with a abalone design

Years ago my family did a lot of camping that involved diving for abalone. You can no longer dive for abalone for many reason. :( Hopefully one day the abalone population with get healthy enough that my grandchildren will get to experience it. 

Saw this little bowl and made me think of all those camping trips. I haven't been camping in years and I do miss it. If I was brave enough, I would really like to do some van camping. Solo camping for a woman comes with its own safety challenges. I know it can be done but I would still like to have a really big dog as my co-pilot!

Aptos means Gayle's

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Went to Aptos early this morning to pick up my MaxSold auction winnings. More on that later. 

I left early because Hwy 17 can get back up very quickly. Good thing I did as there was a pretty bad accident. I planned to stopped at Gayle's for breakfast knowing I was going to get into town early.  I decided to splurge and get a breakfast sandwich. I also picked up some things for dinner (shrimp and artichokes) and yes I got a few cookies. :) 

I won a lot of small kitchen items which may seem a silly as I have down sized so many times.  Since I'm cooking in so many different kitchens while I'm dog sitting, it would be nice to have my own tools. What I liked about this lot was the mini Cuisinart food processor (I use to have the big one, which was always too big), the immersion blender and hand held mixer. Everything is very portable and easy to pack.  The coffee maker was the only thing I didn't need but it's scheduled to go down to the Carmel house as a back up. 

Dutch Baby Recipe

Well I just had to try this dutch baby recipe. It's a very basic recipe but it turned out pretty good. I didn't quite understand why you had to use a blender but I'm guessing it's to fill it with air. It's a flour based recipe so it's not something I can eat a lot of but I'm sure the boys will like it. 

I only topped it with cheese because why not.  I kept it simple for the first go around. I want to get an idea what other toppings I could use in the future. It has the texture of mochi cake so now I'm wondering could I make it with rice flour? 

Fresh Ginger Root

You know you live in an area with a lot of Asian grocery stores when you can find ginger this size. :)  

I like to make lemon, honey and ginger for my morning tea. I prefer my tea because even after it cools, you can still drink it unlike like coffee.  After I'm done with my tea I throw all the lemon and ginger into my smoothie, makes it nice and tangy. :) 

I've been trying for years to grow ginger but still haven't any luck there. I almost had one started last year but it didn't make it past its seedling stage. Fingers crossed I can get one to grow this year!

Nuka and tsukemono hunt is on.

Yes, I read cookbooks, it's a thing.  

I almost picked up this canning cookbook when I was down in Carmel. A church close to house has a sale every week so I made a quick stop. I had really good luck last time I shopped there so gave it a shot. Didn't have a lot of time since I was on my way home. I'm glad I didn't get it. A copy came into the Happy Dragon and I got to really check it out. The only thing I found interesting was the one recipe to make Nuka - Japanese fermented bran pickles. It was something my family made when I was young. I remember only being able to see over the edge of  a really big crock - yes it was a  very big crock. After reading the recipe it sent me down a rabbit hole of looking up tsukemono recipes.  There is one cookbook that I'm now on the hunt for. It was printed in 2005 and I'm sure out of print. I'm not willing to pay Amazon prices so I'll be searching for it when I go out thrifting. Wish me luck!

Another score from FabMo!

I find the most interesting fabrics at FabMo in Sunnyvale! This is a light weight canvas that I plan to use with the PVC chairs I made for the boys. $10.00 for 2 2/3 yards, which is a total deal! Now I just have to think of what to do with all the left over fabric!

FabMo is getting more quilting cotton fabrics from crafter's stashes. So if quilting is your thing, you should check them out. If you can't make the in person store sales, you can always shop online which is what I do. 

Mini tea set from Portugal

One of the many goals I had when I started volunteering at the Happy Dragon was to get the prices lowered in the houseware section. Not because I'm a reseller but because of the negative reviews the store gets about the high prices. The volunteer who was in charge of the housewares wasn't IMO an experienced thrifter. She would Googled/eBay everything which not only takes a lot of time but gives you a false sense of value. That causes a  very slow sell through rate so we would run out of space as the donations came in.  Well I guess she got tired of all the complaining and I don't blame her. Now that the store has a paid manager on staff, he didn't agree with her pricing either so she stepped down.  The new housewares volunteers understand what a fast sell though rate means and in the long run will make the store more money. 

 Ok, so why the photo above. The store gets a lot of junk drawer donations. Way too many small things to process fast. One box came in and it was going to go out for .50 for anything in the box.  I spotted some good stuff so took the box home to process. This mini tea set was in that box. All the parts were there and undamaged! It cleaned up really well and now can be priced for $20. Mainly because it's a complete and unusual child's set. 

It was worth taking home and processing all the good stuff out.  The really junkie stuff is going to be lumped together and sold as one lot. 

Where did all the sandy go?

It has been perfect shorts weather here in Carmel. There isn't much beach with all the big storms that have come though and there's definitely no walking the whole beach anymore. I've been told climate change is the reason. 

It use to be a very rare occurrence to have the whole beach wiped out but now it's happening every year. I hope the sandy beach comes back for the holidays. Still it was a very warm and sunny day today. There's a bench at one of the points I sit at and soak up all the sea air and get my dose of vitamin D. :)