Harmon Mfg. Co. Tacoma, Wash.

finding something by the side of the road....I liked the lines. covered in dirty dirt and a lot of cigarette burn marks.....which were a work of art all by itself.

Blonde 50s nightstand...sounds like a dimestore novel......
Heavy real wood, boy it was heavy. Stop the car ! back up, put this in the trunk.
When I say "Living the Recycled Life".......this is what I mean. Almost everything I own is vintage (er, second-hand).

See...not fooling about the burn marks.
A nice coat or 2 of Kilz...a day to dry.

Oh Loooook. F. S. Harmon Mfg. Co. Well, Mark and I have certainly sold quite a few vintage Harmon Made in Tacoma pieces in our day.....

well, here it is....I added a vintage 20s oak wood knob, from my reclaimed stash.....I didn't like the Home Depot-brassMadeInChina knob it had on it.......not original and oh, so ugly........Now....It stands all night long with a vintage leaded glass lamp, my blue tulip blue glass hanging lamp...a basket of paperbacks for nightime reading, a weird piece of driftwood.....and a sleeping dog. The White Mostly bedroom is coming along...

Everything in this picture was bought at an estate sale, the thrift, the side of the road...Even the dog is a hand-me-down.....

White Man Moccasins

One of my most fave pictures is this whimsical print by Lee Marmon. He has been taking pictures of New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo people, for nearly 60 years. Encouraged by his father, Henry,  when Lee was a callow 22 year old veteran of WWII, he began to document the elders of his tribe, the daily life, and the moment in history when Indians were moving  into modern life, and leaving behind the centuries of old ways of living. Indians are of course, still living in the old ways, but in the middle of the 20th century, they began to ...perhaps...feel more comfortable integrating modern things in their daily life.
For at least a hundred years, American Native people had been forced to assimilate, and we see in Marmon's long historical perspective, Indians making the choice for themselves to choose what they want, and to take what they like, and also, to insist America finally honor every treaty the Indians signed in good faith...only to see each one broken over the long occupation of their lands by us foreigners.

Taken in 1954, it's a photo of tribal elder Jeff Sousea, the elderly caretaker of the Laguna mission. As a kid, and today when the sun peeps out, you can find me lazying in the afternoon sun just like elder Jeff. He has his  traditional headband and his hand made beaded and wrought jewelry and on his feet....a modern (though well-worn) pair of Converse shoes, or maybe a pair of Keds. That ankle circle patch...can be seen on both cons and keds.

more about Marmon

you can buy the postcard of Marmon's photo here

this picture of Lee is from here

 Here's the latest Converse and moccasins in the funkomavintage shop.....
I only buy the Made In USA Cons....now that Nike owns them and they are made in China, they suck.

Moccasins...

Converse, and moccasins are my 2 favorite shoes to wear....when I'm not in cowboy boots, that is....

The Red Tiger Asic are for running, and the POLO by Ralphie, and the plaid by TUK are my exceptions...based on cuteness.  I am paring down....from the 15 personal pairs...I used to have.

These moccasins are in rotation when it isn't raining...I'm making a pair of Navajo-style moccasins in black leather. It's fun! That pair of light brown leather, are (clears throat) about 35 years old.

Seeing the trees in spite of the forest

I'm sifting through decades of stuff. Family stuff. Kid stuff. Old records...the tax kind and the vinyl kind...
Old books. Old shoes. Old furniture.
Old ways.
Old memories.

etsy seller Elizabeth Urquhart

I think of Robert Frost....very often...his poems, his words....saunter across my mind.
His poem, Miles to Go (actually called Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening), is a favorite because it gives me energy, hope and keeps me going when I really want to say "Oh forget it all...it doesn't matter!"
Art, and nature, always revive my spirits.


When Robert Frost was a farmer he would load a wagon and hitch a horse and clop to town to sell his produce. One time, he needed to sell to afford presents for Christmas (who can't relate to that?).
He sold nothing on a cold snowy day and had to return home.
So sad, so overwhelmed with helplessness, he stopped his wagon near a snowy field of birch trees and cried and cried. His horse shook his neck and tinkled his horse bells, and Mr. Frost gathered his wits and carried on.
Oh, lordy, how many times have I despaired ....the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel seems, too often, to have been vanquished.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost
 

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

**************************************************
Born Robert Lee Frost on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, his family moved to Lawrence Mass. in spring 1885. His grandfather offered to take in the Frost family after Robert's father died. After graduation from Lawrence High, Frost attended Harvard for 2 years.
His grandfather bought a farm in Derry, New Hampshire, where Robert farmed for nine years, writing his poems whenever he could spare some time. The farm didn't prosper so he worked as an English teacher in New Hampshire.

In 1915 Frost bought another farm in New Hampshire and kept writing, and teaching, and lecturing. Today, this home is preserved as a museum.
He taught at Amherst College in Massachusetts and his poems became famous and profitable.

stamp picture from wikimedia.org


In 1924, he won the first of his many Pulitzer Prizes and became one of America's most beloved poets. Later in life, in 1940, Frost purchased a home in Florida...yes, the Winter Home!


He died in 1963 , and is buried in Bennington, Vermont. The epitaph on his gravestone is from one of his poems- "I had a lover's quarrel with the world."

Yes, Mr. Frost. Me too. 

Winter blues and water woes.....

No pictures of my vintage  Winnebago ...this post, but here's my bedroom....
I survived quite well during the nasty snowstorm...I didn't lose power and no branches fell on me, my garage or my house. I know many many folks had to endure days of misery. My neighbors lost several tall branches of their beautiful birch tree due the weight of heavy snow and ice. I had a branch from one of my trees, fall in my backyard and it missed the fence,the power lines and anything of value at all !



this is my hall, and see that rug? yes. I got that off the street in 1984, when I lived on N. 13th. Sweet! 40s magnolia wool rug....Tacoma used to come pick up your crap during the spring and fall home clean-ups and lots of stuff was left on the sidewalks and driveways...and the Free Pickings was good! (this was back in the day before rich people started buying chipped-up "Shabby Chic"...us real people just found...stuff. We saw the beauty in wabi-sabi, and hey, the price is right! )

Unrelated to the weather (probably), my basement sump pump went Kaput! "Hello Mr. Landlord!"
... the water was almost knee-high, and it extinguished my water heater so we had 3 days with no hot water! I can put up with a lot of crap from life....if I can have a hot shower at night. The plumbers arrived and pumped the basement almost dry, and installed a new sump pump. My bedroom is over the basement/sump pump, and that new sucker was LOUD.


I thought if I just moved my bed to the other side of the room.......but no!
I'm leaving it like this....tho.

We haven't had a good night's sleep for the last few...and we are cranky! But today, I figured out the problem and fixed it. The hang strap for the exit pipe was transmitting the pump racket to the joists and throughout the house. So I moved that strap sucker! and....
QUIET!

sleeping dog, hippie bedspread, vintage slips, Indian camp blanket, and purple....



Little doggie basket, and I love the closet door and doorknob...original to the 40s house.
On the right is Mark's dresser, we got from Jan in a dresser swap a few years ago.

Mark's clothes and his huge HUGE vintage suitcase.
My Guitar Girl picture (free) and vintage fabric on the window.  Thrifted Nighthawks (mercilessly  copied and Marilyn, Bogie, and Dean inserted (crap)) But, Edward Hopper, my favorite American artist, painted it in 1942, and I love it. The painting (not this print!) is the same age as my house....

After years of looking for a vintage scalloped padded headboard, I finally found one (thrifted). I was gonna cover it (maybe someday) but I actually like the 70s avocado vinyl. 1920's tux shirt, and a 40s chenille peacock on deep blue velvet. Map of the San Francisco Bay area. (all thrifted, except the map, which we bought 15 years ago on our honeymoon)
Purple pillows!

Love the closet !

Mark's vintage suitcase and his wool socks. This is just what it looks like...daily. No, I'm not expecting Martha Stewart and don't give a fig about phony stage sets.
I bought that wool needlepoint rug at a Country Living show at the Tacoma Dome back in the 80s. $50 Bucks.

Nighthawks (no TV !!)  I have a lot of paperbacks, and this old dresser (free) used to hold the TV and DVD and VCR players (free), and 2 of the drawers are full of VHS tapes and DVD's...which are mostly going to the Goodwill except for a few....Like Harold & Maude on VHS !
The mermaid-San Francisco-water globe was bought on vacation, when we took 2 of the kids on vacation about 13 years ago in the VW bus. That was a lot of fun! No really. It was so much fun.

 You might have seen Tom Cat as my etsy avatar.
"So long for now......thanks for visiting and yes, we belong to Mark."

Home is where the art is

when I wasn't being sick over the xmas weeks, I was cleaning out my house. I pity my poor kids...if I died tomorrow, they would have to sift thru 55 years of crap valuable things to list on ebay.
One of the home projects I've decided to complete after laying dormant for only 14 months...my dining chair seats! I've completed one ! I only have one left to do!
 here's the after....and then the before....and then the easy-peasy step by step...

(before) 

 Choose a sturdy fabric like...upholstery fabric or duck or sailcloth or denim.

1st, Unscrew the seat cushion (turn the chair upside down, and look underneath at the 4 corners for the screws), remove the wood and foam and fabric sandwich from the chair frame and disassemble. Toss the old fabric away. I reused my foam, but if yours is flat after years of butt, go buy new. Like at Joann's or a local foam shop. It's in the yellow pages, ie...411. or ask Google or Siri. 
Then lay the foam on your new fabric, and cut your chair fabric about 3 - 4 inches larger than the foam and wood seat. Yes, save and reuse the wood under the foam. (don't lose those screws!)

2nd ... Be sure to lay the foam on the Wrong Side of the fabric first, evenly with 3 -4 inches all around. Lay the board on top of that, fold an edge of fabric about an inch and gently pull it up to the wood ...start on any edge of the wood, about 1.5" in....and staple. Put a staple about every 2".  I love my new yellow Staple Gun!

3rd...Go all the way around the seat. Start on one side...go to the other side, then the 3rd side, and finish the fourth side. Pull and smooth as you go. You want the foam slightly compressed....but not tight, or the staples will pull out when you sit down. Bad. You can always pull the staples out and start over if you aren't happy when you turn it over and check it.

4th.... the corners are a bit tricky. Pinch the fabric together and artfully fold the corners flat and staple. It is OK to chop a bit of fabric away....but be careful! don't take too much. Be sure you have about 3 - 4 inches to fold over and staple. This is tricky, but you can do it!

Check it out !!
lastly, put it back on the chair, and screw the screws back into the 4 corners underneath the chair. You may have to unscrew the screws a bit so they don't poke you when you sit down. As long as they bite and go thru the wood under the seat, you'll be fine.

It's Over !

the Christ-mas calendar says it's over.....which is only partly true. for me, the year begins at the winter solstice and not in a nature-religion kind of way....it just is what's the real thing. The Earth. The Moon ...and the stars.
A West coast girl I've always been, and a West coast girl I will always be.
There's always changes going on...Once the kids grew up, I knew I'd be leaving Washington state...the  good thing I can say about Washington is that I-5 goes south.

I've been looking for a motorhome ....an RV. I  know what I want ...so I just have to find it. At first I thought, for the last 42 years, I wanted a trailer to pull behind a truck. But.. Knowing that all dreams, plans and  journeys are not always pleasant.....

I have always wished for a big decrepit house on an acre or so. That's all. Nothing special. Now, I know that will never happen. The world has changed so much in the last 5 years and it won't be set right again in my lifetime. All the hard work done by my parents and grandparents, The New Deal, has been destroyed.

The whole reason we can even buy a RV and drive it around, is because people pay taxes and build roads, parks, fund Highway Patrol/Police so we can feel safe...So that we don't become Mexico with 100% corrupt politicians and police, and drug-infested cartels that roam the cities and country and murder hundreds of people a month...and don't forget. Poverty. So thanks for voting for the very people, the Republicans, and their failure in letting "the market" control goodness, those that hate community and the Social Contract, and everything good about America. Except profit.

So....on to the search for the right RV. I'll come back to the RV chat many times. So much to know! Looking for one and I'll know it when I see it !

an RV in tiny versions....a  tootsie toy

...Here's some sweet pics from around the interwebs of inspiring rvs and nice interiors. It's important to know what I don't want....no cutesy, no Marilyn/Betty Boop/words of Inspiration decals/no Coca-cola/no Diner....So Done..Done! Also, I love authentic vintage decor....but I don't want that.....day after day after day after day.....

(look at grandma vacuum!) photo from


More like the way I decorate in my home.....

Winnebago RV made in Iowa.

Even Barbie likes to RV it !







so the huge plaids and dirty orange carpets will be the first to get tossed out. Also, say bye bye to the built-in dinette benches and fold up half-table. Out!  A real couch, and a real table with real chairs. Add in a composting toilet, then the propane oven and the stove top will go too...Only a heater will remain...to run on propane maybe. Very little cooking will happen in my portable home. I'll use a camp stove...or cook outside.  ....And solar panels will be added to be able to boondock more, rather than always be tied to an RV park...tho I've got nothing against them at all. I love them!!

I've been doing a lot of research.
folks who RV full-time seem to break down into 4 groups:
1)A lot of Christians/Mormons. Jesus wants you to live in mobile home.
2)Bums. Homeless. The Slabs.
3)Retired old people. Retired young people. (yuppies who have kicked the corporate job/or fired with a nice package)
4)Hippies. Weirdos. The Self-employed.

For seeing how the middle class and yuppie types in general do the trailer thing,
.....you can go here: Tin Can cottage Blog
for a jumping off spot to see the cutesy wootsey kind of campers and trailers and generally man-repeller design. As cute as my Xmas cards.

Here's a cute trailer...Light on over-decoration.....Darcy and Paul's Shasta. yes, a man lives here too! 

So while the vintage Trailer bunch is growing in popularity, and is quite huge with trailer meets and such............the vintage RV group is more sedate and more male. ....but, it is growing ....More people are finding the vintage RV's and motorhomes and fixing them up, and beginning to attract a younger crowd, and more folks with kids. I think the extra  room and the ideal of living in them full time is a big draw.
Even the websites......are vintage 1997!
Dedicated to classic Winnies and vintage RVs

Great RV forum

so our last camping trip was the best ! and including the car camping trip to California last September.
tho the tent...is comfy but now that we're getting older, we want a unit that's self-contained. We want to  pull up to a spot and have it all at hand. No more setting up the tent, unpacking, blowing up the bed, getting out the camp stove, the ice chest, the folding table and chairs......I do love my tent, and my pretty bed....

the inside is always cute and cozy......just the way I like it !

My house is simple.

In a working class neighborhood. Just the way I like it. The life-destroying Investors are on their way to destroy Hilltop by installing corporate coffee shops and bland and tasteless restaurants like Olive Garden, PF Changs, Johnny Rockets and Cheesecake Factory. Oh, and condos. Lots and lots of faux Tuscan condos.
I arrived to....Grass with Cyclone Fence. I've added some flowers and displays......I'm not investing a lot of $$ since I rent. I'm leaving in about 2 years, but since this is our daily life, we'll make it simply attractive for us.

So, open the gate, you've been invited to look at pictures!

In a few years that bamboo will be magnificent! I love these dahlias....I'll add the name later...
The color is very very happy...

Golden eumonyous. This is one of the 4 shrubs in the rental yard. Besides the beauty bark/junipers.

These guys are in a patch of weeds/yarrow that I'm developing into a tiny meadow. As I was mowing and mowing last spring I noticed the yarrow had populated the grass...so, I surrounded it with chunks of old concrete and bricks I found in the alley. I'll put in some bulbs this fall and ....let it go.

Autumn Joy sedum. It sure is!

My Mothers Day Flamingos, and junk I found.

I don't think this will stay up all winter......Lots of snow is predicted.....waaaaaaa. I hate Snow.

ooooooo Darknesss....

Lamp like a Harvest Moon......