Summer is Here!

Summer finally arrived in Silicon Valley and temperatures shot up…for a bit! I am never too hungry when it’s hot so I decided one night it was a perfect time to make this quick basil pasta. This delish recipe is from my favorite monastery cookbook that features good, simple food.

I wish I had the yard space for a proper kitchen garden, but I do manage herbs, sometimes a few tomatoes and peppers (though not this year) and we have apples on our twig of a tree!

And whether it’s hot or not, I keep plugging away at my vintage biz.

After my thrifting/antiquing flop in San Francisco a few days ago (granted I only visited two stores), I was hoping to find something at my small honey hole neighborhood thrift store. And I did. This old handmade bell bronze singing bowl, likely Tibetan.

This type of religious item is somewhat out of my wheelhouse, but it has age (vintage, possibly antique), heft and is definitely hand made. It had no mallet, but I gave it a few pings and it has a nice tone. Meant to be used for meditation, it’s also lovely just for display. I will not polish it (“Nay, nay” in the words of John Pinette, one of my favorite comedians) but will leave it “as is” with the patina of time. It is a perfectly imperfect thing!

And on July 4th at 8:00 a.m. you’d have spotted me again at my neighborhood thrift store for their 35% off sale. That’s as good as it gets in this store and I was determined to find treasure. It was crazy busy, but I want around and around (and around) this small store for 50 minutes and did better than I expected.

My first two finds were this pair of small 1950s framed ballerina prints. The carved gold-painted wood frames are quite nice and worth repurposing!

This Z.S. & Co. (Zeh, Scherzer & Co.) Bavaria hand-painted porcelain sugar and creamer set is one I would have normally walked past. In fact all day long I walk past “sweet” stuff like this, but this duo was so fresh in blue and cream and in fabulous condition. And it was sale day. Well, okay, how could I resist? [Turns out it was a bit better than I thought. The company mark on the bottom dates it to 1880 – 1918!]

I don’t venture much into reselling toys and games, but this shrink-wrapped 1983 set of Trivial Pursuit cards for Baby Boomers caught my attention. It had been sitting in someone’s house unopened for 40 years! Crazy right??! If it doesn’t sell, my husband and I can quiz each other with it!

But my most exciting find was this 1966 Enid Collins “Carriage Trade” purse. BOOM, there it was amidst all the purse flotsam and jetsam. Enid Collins! And on a sale day!! All the “gems” are present, but one strap is ripped through. I’ve repaired it with some leather glue but of course, will also disclose the repair.

Need to do more research, but I will likely list this for $80.

Paid: $29.86 for six items (not including the singing bowl).

So grateful for my tiny neighborhood Goodwill. Eleven years on and I’m still finding some good stuff. Not always big scores. And not every visit. Sometimes (many times!) I come away empty handed. Sometimes prices are too high. Sometimes competition is too fierce. But still. I really do appreciate it.

Hope your summer is full of good food and good finds!

Karen