Garden thoughts from Xmas to NYE

Making the list and checking it twice. Not a Xmas gift list, but a list of garden seeds and plants for the garden of 2016.  The garden always starts anew every year, and the failures and the successes give us hope and give a sad face. So much hope! So much reward! and some failures. Just like life.

The container garden worked out pretty well. Just pretty well. I won't repeat it because: the no5 plastic boxes were very heavy, and cracked at the end of the summer since they aren't meant to last a long time (and not meant to last outside either).

I was surprised by a seedling that turned out to be a cherry tomato....probably a Sweet 100, since I do grow it every year, except 2015, but one came up on its own anyway. It's tough and I highly recommend it to novice and old-time gardeners alike.

The plants in the boxes didn't grow very well (probably  not high quality dirt), except the peppers and the marigolds.

The garden of 2016 will have more cherry tomatoes, more striped tomatoes, and my favorite peppers... Corno di Toro. Those amazing little Japanese eggplants and more pickling cucumbers because of their smaller size, and they are multi-purpose. Pickle them or eat them fresh! Another Meyer Lemon because Lemon! And I'm buying a miniature fruit tree or 2 to grow in a big wine barrel or 2.

More marigolds, more morning glories and nasturtium, more zinnias, more sunflowers. More alyssum, more daisies. 

On the other hand, the morning glories were glorious! And self-seeding.
pics from 2015 --- Oh, we didn't have any Japanese beetles but we had a late season tomato hornworm. UGLEEE. and a darling praying mantis lived in the wild geranium weed for a week or so.
The mantis is hard to seeeee, but he is there, right in the middle of this picture.

But the tomato hornworm is pretty easy to see. It did take us about a week to find him in the cherry tomato.

Here are some pics that I especially like from 2015. The weeds in the cracked concrete were especially adorable.

remember my Vintage Winnebago?

Yup that one. We've been living in it for about a year and half and we feel fine.  Tiny house living isn't for everyone, but if you are ready to ditch a lot of possessions and spend a lot less time cleaning house, a tiny house might be for you.

Most people who get a trailer or an RV decide to paint it inside and spruce it up with all new fabrics, and the results are just fantastic!
I like leaving my Winnie pretty much like how it was built in 1973. But.... that dinette just had. To. Go.
Finally did it. We unscrewed it and stored the 2 benches and the table in case the new owner (someday in the future) wants it back.
We put in 2 of our vintage bamboo chairs and I love all the extra room.  Also, since we don't really use the oven except for storage, we turned it into a laptop holder to watch movies and stuff.  Next indoor project --- all new flooring to replace the mish mosh of vinyl tiles and bits of original awesome green carpet.
Here are the AFTER pics...

Here is the laptop on the stove door. Silly.

A few BEFORE pics from the deconstruction which was just unscrewing it from the frame.

 We unscrewed and dismantled the propane heater tube and vent and are storing that too for future use.

Also, a BEFORE pic or 2 from years past when we ate at the dinette.

Next up... different curtains and a slightly different arrangement of all the stuff that must be stored away.
I'm years late describing what we did in the last year! Changed out the black water tank open/close handle (fun, not fun), replaced the heating coil in the refrigerator.
I bet you can't wait for the Youtube videos!

Warm Coat Cold Winter

In the winter of 2015 - 2016 the nasty boy El Nino is coming back to the planet earth for a visit. He's bringing rain and wind, and snow and ice, but where will he drop his weird weather?

Along the west coast of the USA where funkomavintage lives, El Nino will drop us some rain and wind, which is pretty nice after 4 years of a bad drought, but will it rain where we need it? Hope so. Up in the PNW, it will be warmer and somewhat drier, as will most of the east coast of the USA. Along the center, perhaps there will be more tornados and more snow and more cold, and along the southwest of the USA, wet wet wet...

Doesn't matter where you live, winter does always return. Some of you don't have much of a winter any year, but winter is coming.

In early 1955, photographer Dennis Stock followed James Dean around New York City, and also when Dean returned to his family farm, to his little town of Fairmount, Indiana, he chose to wear a long wool coat, a WWII US Navy military trench coat. And you know, if it's military, it can face, oh, I don't know. Oh a War!  Here is the coat he wore. I mean, A US Navy coat JUST like the coat James Dean wore.
clicky here to view it, this 40s US Navy uniform trench coat.

Quality and style, this is a vintage 40s WWII Navy trench coat. It is like the one James Dean wore in his famous series of photos by Dennis Stock, walking in the rain in New York City, and visiting his hometown and family in the Midwest.
It's an authentic WWII Navy overcoat with adjustable cuffs, and all the details that only vintage military has. Top quality, made to wear like iron, and it is always in style.
Double breasted buttons, cuff buttons and it's lined in dark navy satin. It has its original belt too.

funkomavintage has a lot more awesome vintage winter coats for men and women, and you can find them here in our etsy shop (clicky)
and we have more vintage winter coats in our funkomavintage website store too, so clicky here.
The photos of James Dean are by Dennis Stock, link:   and first published in Time magazine, link.

Beret Beret and slouchy

The beret hat is a fun circle of wool that sits so niftily on the top of your head and always looks smashing. Allow me to demonstrate...

pic 3 & 4 are from Chictopia, link here,   and pic 5, below, is from lookbook.nu, link here.

Each of the above outfits are fantabulous all on their own. but the Beret adds that little bit of sophisticated polish. And your head stays reasonably warm too.

................................
Here is a picture of Princess Diana. Look. She is wearing a beret. And the beret she is wearing is most likely a Kangol. They have been made in Merry olde England since the 20s. Kangol berets are all wool, made in Cleator, Cumberland, England. It is known as the  Anglobasque beret.
However since the late 2000's Kangol isn't made in merry olde England but in some other place. I blame the upper crust and their unabated desire for profits profits profits at the expense of quality and tradition.

That's where funkomavintage comes in. We always stock Good Olde Fashioned Quality stuff.
Like the selection of vintage wool and suede berets in the Etsy shop right now!

Princess Di photo is from kangol.com

We have a red beret, a navy blue beret, a gray beret, a black beret OOO la la! The Kangol beret in camel. We have a dark brown beret, and one knitted in the Irish Fisherman pattern in creamy wool, and we have a darling vintage 60s one in deep blue suede leather. I know, right?!
Search the shop for beret. They will probably be there, but they do sell fast as soon as the weather turns cold in the USA. 

Not in need of a beret? I find that hard to fathom. However a cowboy hat or a pom pom beanie, or other charming slouchy hat may suit you too.  Click click click