Wednesday on Pickle

 Hey Pickles!  Welcome to Wednesday!  

It’s cold on Pickle Road that it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey!   We’re getting snow too.  Blech! 

I’m ready for my favorite flower to pop out of the ground – the lily of the valley.  I love the scent and the delicate bells (just like me — a delicate belle — whatev-ah!)

I picked up my refurbished typewriter yesterday in Montclair NJ (one of my favorite towns).   

This is Luis. 

He’s a dying breed and he’s one of the few who still repairs typewriters.   What a nice guy.  Luis is from Cuba. 

So now I’m totally into my manual typewriter.   I know I’ll rarely use it but I can dream — I buy fabric and don’t use it so what the hell?    Anyway, I found some really hot typewriter jewelry for women and men at Tokens and Coins.  Click on their name to take a look at their site.  In the meantime, here are  a few examples:

You know it’s just a matter of time before I end up buying junk typewriters so that I can style my own brand of typewriter key jewelry — and of course all of my junk typewriters will end up sitting in the garage with all of the other shit that I had to have but haven’t seen or touched since I bought it.   Think there’s a problem here?   Oh my dears, you have no idea! 

  I took a photo of this house that Jeff and I saw the other day in Lamberville, NJ.   We have been trying to find the perfect color to paint Pickle Road.   This caramel looks like something that we both liked — with white shutters and trim.   I like it.  But we’re still looking.

Textile artist and friend, Scott Hansen turned me onto this 365 thing he’s been doing (if you click on his name you can see his 365 project).  It’s something that’s happening on Flickr where you take one photo a day of yourself and post it.  I have zero idea why but it whet my appetite for some reason (if you think I’m easily influenced in crafting — you should have seen me when I was dating – yikes)!  

Anyway, Evan’s 16th is on March 9.  16 is an important birthday so I’m going to 365 Evan.  One pic a day for 365 days.   I’ll even let him take some self portraits.  Then, at the end of the year, I’ll have a photo book made of all of the photographs for him.  Shutterfly makes these neat books.  I like the idea and thanks for Scott for the inspiration.  Scott, and his wife Linda are a very creative couple.

 Drove to Clinton NJ today for some fabric…

  Clinton is a great little town.  One of the original NJ towns with real historical value.   This is a photo of the famous Red Mill.   Kindred Quilts holds their annual outdoor quilt airing there each summer as a fund raiser for the mill and the local museum (which I have yet to visit, now that I mention it).    Here are some random pics of Clinton. 

Jeff and I had Thai for lunch and then . . . did a little window shopping.   I ended up buying this great little kaleidoscope and a vintage-esque, repro, notebook.  Love those clowns.

I find great color and shape inspiration in kaleidoscopes.  Paula Nadelstern has a gazillion of them – really marvelous quality, real, k-scopes.  Mine was $3.95 but it’s all metal! 

 

I had to get Evan new ear molds for his hearing aids yesterday.  After we had him fitted, we took off for Montclair, NJ (close to Manhattan) to pick up my typewriter from Luis.  There is an amazing new and used bookstore, The Montclair Bookstore, next to Luis’ place.  I picked up this oldie.  Not so great, but I had to have it.  Lord knows when I’d find another one like it, right? 

 Here’s the bookstore.   How could you resist?  It just smells like old, wonderful books, is two floors and incredibly long.  Millions of books!   Click here for their website. 

  

Next, Evan and I went off to my favorite Brit import shop to buy some tea and toffee!  

Right next door is Little Cricket which is this home dec place that sells new stuff along with vintage and antique things.  Really fun to walk around this shop!  The problem for me is that I get so motivated and inspired that I can’t keep all of my ideas in…yet have no time to do anything.  It’s a curse, I tell ya! 

 

Of course, the Ev-ster was hungry and he spotted Cuban Pete’s and wanted Cuban food again!   This place was also very good and the ambiance was tremendous!  It is a bit pricey and Evan’s chicken was delivered cold, but they took it back and warmed it up.  The cafe con leche was AMAZING! 

  The outside on Bloomfield Blvd.

  You have to walk through buildings and their patio (strewn with coconuts) to get in the door.

  Here’s where we sat.   It’s beautiful inside and the classic Cuban music that was playing was wonderful.

  Even their bathroom was done up.  Tons of empty Cuban cigar boxes were mounted to the walls!  

Here’s what Evan ordered.  The rice, with a perfume of garlic, was the best I’ve ever tasted.  He gobbled it all up, in double time! 

  Here’s Evan sitting outside of Cuban Pete’s.   “I’m ready for my close-up!”

MARK’S IDOL UPDATE

I am in love with that David Archuleta kid.  He rocked on last night’s Idol – terrific voice, charming personality.  I liked him in spite of hating the song he sung – You Better Shop Around—  So damned cute and I just had to pick up the phone and vote for him after Ryan Seacrest was teasing him.   What a sweet kid!   

I also liked the guy with the dreads – Jason Castro from Texas.    He was an unexpected surprise.  He sang along with his guitar and did a really good job with Daydream. 

This is Jeff’s favorite.  Michael, the Aussie living in Atlanta.  I thought he was lame.    How can you even try to compete with the original, Light My Fire.   Even the cat left the room!   Jeff though he nailed it. 

Tonight — the women.  I think it’s the men’s game so far! 

Friends and Foes

This is a pretty long blog entry about Mark Lipinski’s Katmandu.  Check out My Quilt Life by clicking here.

Check out the Quilted Hills blog for her take on Quilter’s Home and Mark Lipinski.

Also the Passionate Quilterblog has a few comments.

Later my lovlies!  xoxom