It's all about the food for the holidays

It's all about the food when it comes to the holidays in my family. We don't go for the traditional stuff. We do a pre Thanksgiving dinner which was delicious. Prime rib, mash potatoes (Henkie's favorite food) freshly caught crabs, fancy salad and a few other things I can't remember. :)

We didn't do a turkey as most of us don't like it and it's a pain to have to time everything around it. Honey baked ham was the main dish. The day after Thanksgiving we make fried rice with all the leftovers. 

An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory

Book by Danny Gregory

I came across some youtube videos by Danny Gregory about illustrated journals. This was his first book published years ago. It's out of print now and not in the library system anymore. I didn't want to order it until I was sure I like his style of writing because buying it used is a little high. At the library I did find some of his newer books (he's published a lot) so I checked them out. It was a first time I've been to the Carmel library, having walked past it a million times over the years. His videos are pretty good so I don't really need to get his books. His first book has samples of 40 different artists so it would be nice to see their work. I'm now on the hunt for his books at the thrift stores. It may take time but I know I will find it.  

Setting new art goals

I've never been one to sit and read a book cover to cover unless I was on a long flight.I wish I was one of those type who can go on vacation with a good book.

When I was hiking in Machu Picchu several years ago I saw a man doing a pen and ink drawing in his travel journal.It was a clear sunny day and he had a small bottle of black ink next to him with this amazing view of Machu Picchu. For some reason that is the strongest image I have of my time at Machu Picchu.I'm now starting the process of actually doing a travel journal. Not really for traveling but more like my blog of everyday life stuff.I use to scrapbook but it always felt manufactured, not creative enough or really me. One of the things to start my  journaling path is to try new fonts on my blog, then practice writing in that font. I'm drawn to the bold graphic look in journals so I think that will be a good start. 

Chicken Enchiladas Tonight

It was a last minute decision to make chicken enchiladas tonight. Not sure who made that decision but after a debate on using spaghetti sauce instead of going to the store for enchilada sauce, I ended up cooking. Debating about food happens when you have a bunch of foodies in the house. I did spice it up a bit but not as hot as I would have liked it because of the kids. We did have everything to make chicken enchiladas include fresh jalapeño peppers and perfectly ripe avocados. Again having foodies in the house you never know what you'll find in the refrigerator! The teenagers here all liked it and even Henkie had some for his second dinner. Now have to figure out what to do with all the left over chicken!

Carmel Craft Show

Ceramic tiles by Steve Baranowski

Normally I don't go to many of these type craft shows. I was dropping off some books to donate and I had a good parking space close by. Parking on the street and in town was a nightmare! I'm not feeling well again but it was a very nice day so I went to take a look. I saw a several things I would love but getting there 2 hours late, it was slim pickings for the hot colors.  Things were very pricey but I think it has to due with it being in Carmel.

I did get these tiles from an artist that lives in Davenport. If you know the area it's just a sleepy little beach town. Has a good blown glass community but not much else. I thought these ceramic tiles were quirky. I first saw the squids tile so I went into his booth to see what else he had. When I saw the flatfish tile I was hooked. I only got a small one but now I think I should ask to have it made in an 8X8 size. I've been on a crow kick lately as there have been a lot of them here at the beach house. I plan to give one to a friend as she likes crows too. The little tree pendent is for another friend who likes to hike. Think she could always hang it up as an ornament if she doesn't want to wear it. Total price was $140 which I don't think is too bad for something handmade and supporting a local artist. I mean when  have you seen a ceramic squid tile. :) 

Ikedas Dutch Apple Pie

I'm not a pie person but I have to say this dutch apple pie from Ikedas was really good. My son is now here in Carmel for a few weeks and made several stops on the way down from Tahoe to pick up snacks. Pie was so good it didn't need ice cream, which we didn't have anyways. The kids went through a gallon in less than a week!

"Spinkle"

I learned a new term last night at dinner "sprinkle". Having no idea what that meant, I had to ask.  It's a term wealthy people use when they randomly spend their wealth on others. How the conversation got started was someone said my SIL could sprinkle a little and buy a house here in Carmel when one of his stock option pays out.  He does a lot of contract work for start-ups and there's sometimes a stock option attached to the contract. He's very much in demand so to get on his calendar, stock is the only other thing they can offer. 

The photo was taken by a friend who was in Japan and Korea for her honeymoon.  I just loved this photo! Back in the day when Facebook and instagram first started it was postings of things people you knew. Now it's just ads :( 

Party Banner Request

 I was asked to make a flag banner using some fabric a friend brought back from Africa. The center fabric is the one I'm working with. The others are ones I may get from FabMo online store. Love shopping on FabMo online store because they get some interesting fabric and the prices are super good. 

Not sure about the blue one, maybe a little too blue? The gold brown stripe one is maybe too boring? It's for a household of very active little kids so I'm leaning more toward bright colors.

Fall Honey For The Win

I've been sick for the past few weeks. I got all the shots I could knowing being around little kids catching a cold was going to happen. 

I've been drinking a lot of lemon and honey tea to help with the cough and stay hydrate. My good friends Tina and Thomas (local bee keepers) hooked me up with the good stuff, dark honey. This is fall honey when the bees had more choices for their pollen supply. It's a seasonal thing so not always available. 

Green Swung Vase

Fenton Swung Vase

A car load of boxes came down from my sister's basement as they were doing a cleaning out. Most of the stuff we hoped I could sell while here, because that's what I do. now the task of disposing of it here, is a challenge. There was only one thing that was worth digging through all those boxes. Swung vases are very hot right now and this one is a Fenton one. Knowing where it came from, it's vintage and the real thing. I did do the comps and checked to make sure. It passed all the tests. It's headed to Cottage Crafts at some point. 

Old School Cooking Tools

This is very old school technology. I found this months ago at Savers ($12.99) and thought it was perfect for the beach house. The stove is very old and all the electric burners that work, slant. Last year the boys' dad couldn't make pancakes because the batter would slide to one side of the pan. We could only make waffles. When I saw pan this the light bulb went on. My mom gave me one of these years ago during another remodel I was doing and I really liked it.  We used it this week and it's working out really well. Ube pancakes, hash brown and sausages. 

 

Vintage Santa Blow Mold

I found this vintage Santa blow mold at the Lending Hand thrift store down here in Carmel. It was $10.00 and being sold as it. At first I only saw a crack along the leg which wasn't all that bad but then I saw the giant hole at the base. Most of the time on these large blow mold the damage is done around the top part. Plus the hole looked like a shadow when it was on the shelf. Anyways I decided for $10 I could at least get $25 for it. I posted it on Facebook Marketplace and got dozens of people interested in it until I confirmed that they actually looked at where the damage was. Most the people where resellers and these blow mold sell for about $200 if in perfect condition. Sun damaged doesn't affect the value too much but a big hold will. I'm sure they all thought I forgot a zero on my price and they were going to score big time. 

It will be transported to Cottage Crafts on Wednesday where a FB buyer will be waiting for it. 
 

Learning Something New - 2024

I learned something new today. My SIL is in high tech so while he's here, I had him figure out why I kept getting a link added to all my blog posts. Looks like someone was using my computer for crypto currency mining, whatever that means. How they got my information is anyone's guess but it's a thing. So by adding a link to my blog, they could use my computer's power.  At least that mystery was solved. 

I had plans to use these trees outside on the deck at the beach house but being an older house there aren't many outlets. I have to also be careful how many extinction cords I use because last year I blew a lot of  Christmas light fuses. So as a back up, I put them by the fireplace. I think it looks very festive! Goes well with the whole outdoor canvas tent theme. :) 

Art 101

While at the beach house I planned for a little painting project. Always a risk when it comes to open containers of paint. 

We had a guest over this weekend who is eight. Her painting is a little easier to understand. 

Mees and Henkie are more abstract in their work. Henkie leans more to the blending of colors, Mees into primaries. 

Gnome House 2.0

The gnome house is still a popular activity here at the beach house. I was surprised the boys remembered it from last year. 

The gnomes went with a pre-fab

house this year. The wooden moss covered one couldn't handle the wet weather. It was relocated to the gnome village down the street.  

This one spins around to show two rooms which works out prefect for the boys. Not a lot of room but it will hold up a whole lot longer than  the original version.

Problem solving

I've spent the last three days getting the beach house ready for the boys. Several car loads of boxes have been coming down to the house for months. 

This has been a vacation home for many, many years, so it's not stocked with too many things. One of the things that did get replaced was the dinner plates.  These new oversized plates (round ones) are so big they don't fit in the dishwasher. The arrow points to the chip on the edge. The other down size is people still load the dishwasher up with them. The spinning thingy, doesn't really spin so the dishes don't really get clean. 

This is year with all the guests we have coming down, I can't see having to hand wash all the dinner plates. If I had thought of it sooner, I would have picked up a set at the Happy Dragon but instead I went to the Branches thrift store here in Monterey. I really didn't want to pay a lot, even at $1.50 each (set of 9) killed me. The new set is only a 1/4 smaller but their more a square shape so fit better in the dishwasher. 

I did bring down a set of my cow glasses since the boys no longer want to use baby type cups anymore. These have a thicker rim than the ones here at the beach house, which tend to break easily.  I've had these for years (cows were my mom's lucky charm) but I don't really need a set of 12 anymore. I'm donating them to the house since the owners were going to have to replace the missing juice glasses anyways. Win Win!