Upcoming Event: St. Louis Earth Day Festivities, 2013

Sunday, April 21, 2013
11am – 6pm
 @The Muny grounds of Forest Park
Free & open to the public

This event is the first of several seasonal venues that I attend religiously.

The St. Louis Earth Day celebration and festivities are held in Forest Park, in front of and surrounding the Muny (outdoor) Theatre.   The actual address of The Muny is:

The Muny
#1 Theatre Drive
St. Louis, MO 63112

If you plug that address into your GPS device, it will get you there, but to know it is close to the History Museum will also get you in the vicinity.  If you choose to drive and park as close as you can to the event, you will most likely have difficulty finding adequate parking.   In the past, I have either bicycled from home, or parked a short distance from the hub of activity, and bicycled in (which is encouraged and promoted by Earth Day).  A sufficient lock will keep your bicycle waiting for you upon your return. 

This is the website for St. Louis Earth Day:

http://www.stlouisearthday.org/events/festival/
There will be bands, a growing food court.


Back to the issue at hand: 

For entertainment, there are usually 2 or 3 stages set up, featuring small acts such as local dance troops and small, but incredibly talented local bands and musicians. 

One of the main features of Earth Day St. Louis is a vendor's market that wraps around the entrance of the Muny Theatre, and goes up the walkways on both sides of the Muny. This market also spills out into the lawn directly across the drive in front of the Muny.  The vendors are selling everything from hand spun wools to vegetables, vegetable seeds, and handmade clothing to solar plans for your home, and much, much more.  They usually have all-electric cars on display, as well as a couple that run on BioFuel (vegetable oil, etc).

You will meet people at this event from every walk of life, including vegan Indians (India), and people who range from "Earth Day lite" to "Hell-Bent Earth Day converts". 

While St. Louis Earth Day is not an event that I would drive hours to attend as my sole reason for visiting the area, there are many other St. Louis features and attractions that you can add to your visit to completely fill your day.  I personally have no problem spending several hours at the St. Louis Earth Day festival, if only for the simple fact that I am an advertisement for a couple of the vendors, and I am often comped a free lunch in lieu of photo ops!  The History Museum is within immediate walking distance of The Muny, and the Art Museum, Science Center, and world-famous Zoo are in the same park.  If you 'really need to get out of that park', you really must go to the City Museum:

http://citymuseum.org/site/
BTW...if anybody is up for a little enthusiastic exploration, give me a holler!  I am ALWAYS ready for more exploration (and shopping at their "The Bailout" store!) at the City Museum!

Anywho - there are many options in addition to your visit to St. Louis Earth Day. 

Remember:  Making the conscious decision to live your life as a bump-on-a-log is a conscious decision that you, and only you, have chosen to make.  Therefore, inaction is truly AN ACTION, and we are all responsible for our own actions, doncha think?  :)

- Michael

My Wentzville Flea Market expedition.....

It is no secret that I do enjoy going to estate sales in the St. Louis area almost every weekend.  I utilize websites such as estatesales.net and http://gsalr.com/garage-sales-st-louis-mo.html , so I can determine my route, and what are the best sales that meet my criteria.  For example, most estate sale companies in this area will post pics of the merchandise at the sale on estatesales.net .  Using that resource will save me time and money.


Aside from the estate sale circuit, we also enjoy going to flea markets.  It is my opinion and observation that the Pevely and Barnhart flea markets have waxed and waned, but altogether, they seem to have lost their spunk, and with that spunk went quality vendors.


All is not lost, however.  The flea market that is located in the heart of Wentzville, MO (near the interchange of I-70 / I-40), is alive and well!  They have over 400 vendors, selling everything from electronics, fruit / vegetables, clothing, household items, car parts, and virtually anything that can be carted to a flea market. 


The drive takes me 40 minutes from my home.  (Yes, on a Sunday morning!), I get up at 5:00 AM, so I can be on the road by 5:45 AM.  The vendors at this particular market can start selling at 6:30 AM, although many of them are still setting up their booths at this time.  If you pull into the large parking lot somewhere around 6:30 AM, you will find quite a few people have already arrived, but ample parking is still available  If you choose to arrive at 7:00 AM or later, you will have to park off the grounds, and walk a several blocks to the market.  This is not usually a problem, but is a consideration if you want to make several trips back to your vehicle with purchases, or if you have your arms full when walking back to your car after a busy morning. 


Immediately after my arrival (usually at 6:25 AM!), I try to make a faster-than-usual la around the entire flea market. This market is huge, and occupies several levels of the park that it occupies.  You have to have a plan, or you will be doubling back over parts of it that you never intended, or you will miss booths, altogether. 


At any rate, I do an initial quick pass, just to see if any vendors have set out an item that has caught my attention that might not be there on my second pass. This has happened to me before.  One vendor had a full-size harpsichord that was made from a kit.  Even though the outside finish of this harpsichord was lacking in the decorative department, I played the instrument, and it proved to be in worthy condition.   Without being assembled, these kits can cost a few thousand dollars.  This instrument was already assembled, and was $100 !  The sad part of the entire deal was that if I was a haggler (and I am not a talented haggler!) , I could have probably talked this poor fell down on the price!


Let's talk about the 'Let It Ride' principle.  Have you ever going to the store, and seen an item you want, but really didn't want to spend the money at that time on it? You decide: "I will finish my shopping, and think about it for a few minutes.  If I still want it later, I will go back and get it before I check out.  That theory works well in stores.  They usually have more than one of the item you are wanting, and the only thing wasted is a few steps, and a bit of your time.  When we are looking at ONE item at a flea market (or estate sale, etc), you have now effectively participated in a gamble.  How so?  You are taking a chance on that one-of-a-kind item still being at that booth when you return. 


I had the opportunity to experience both sides of the "Let It Ride' principle this past Sunday at the flea market.  When I was assembling my 6' raised beds for my tiny garden, being arthritic made whatever the asking price of a rechargeable power screwdriver look very cheap.  I was at Home Depot when I bought these raised beds, and I was looking for this screwdriver while I was there.  They had nothing under $100, and I didn't want to add $100 to the rising cost of these beds.  I know that WalMart sells a smaller, but powerful version of this rechargeable screwdriver for less than $20, but I didn't want to make one more stop that day before I went home. For this project, in the end, I went home and drilled the pilot holes with an electric drill, and drilled the long screws in by hand.  OUCH!


At any rate, at this flea market, during the 'first pass', I noted the very screwdriver that I was looking for, still in it's original packaging.  Asking price $7.50.  What a deal!  Even though my immediate needs for this screwdriver was over, I know there will be future projects that I could use such a tool.  Several years ago, I built a wall, complete with studs, a door, etc - all with one of these less expensive rechargeable screw drivers.  Actually, I had 2 of them, and 1 was charging at any given time, so I wouldn't have any down time.  The moral of this small screwdriver saga is this:  On my second round of the flea market, when I was going back to get the things that I passed on during the first lap, this screw driver was *gone*.  Somebody else knew the 'Let It Ride' principle, and they also knew there was a chance at losing a bargain. 


However.....I also got this hanging tie dyed bead curtain, to put on the wall of my groovy 1960's music room (to hang in the proximity of my Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, and lava lamp!):

 

It was fortunate for me that the young man that I spoke to the young man that was running the booth during my 'first pass', and I told him that I was going to shop the rest of the market, and that I would return to pick up this curtain.  Do you know how many people tell vendors the same schpeal, and  never return?  I am a rare bird in that if I tell a vendor that I will definitely come back and get it, I will most certainly do that.  If I tell them that I will 'walk around and think about it', then it is a toss-up, and no contract is implied.  When I returned to get this curtain, he put it in the back of his booth, out of site from other shoppers. The price I paid:  $10.

Now, be honest with me!  Wouldn't that tie-dye, bead curtain look groovy, baby, behind my Wurlitzer electric piano from 1966, with my Lava lamp on top?  :)

While I do utilize the hell out of the 'Let It Ride' principle, I know when to say when, and when not to gamble. If I want the item bad enough, there IS no gamble. I will buy it out-right.  I bought the following items at the same booth, and paid $15 for *both*.  At local Retro stores,, these same items would have a combined price tag of $195!

Needless to say, I did spend $10 on 'That 70's terrarium', and spent $70 for the other succulents and the rocks, sand and soil inside.  I erroneously figured that putting together this desert terrarium would take me about 10 - 15 minutes.  I spend THREE AND A HALF HOURS just getting the 3 taller cacti in the middle to stand upright!  I had those 3 cacti previously.  They were in this house, in a window, when we moved in.  Prior to my assuming responsibility for these 3 cacti, I could kill a cactus in a heart beat.  I have grown plants that most people can't, and I can start them from seed, but prior to this attempt, I would kill a cactus faster than I care to admit to the average stranger.  The same thing can be said for fish. I can breed Siamese Fighting Fish (Bettas), and if you will read up on that procedure, it is no small joke.  They are tough to breed, and have very specific requirements, or your breeding attempt will fail miserably.   HOWEVER....I will kill a guppy or goldfish in less than a week!  What gives?


Let us continue.....I did purchase the crap to plant this desert terrarium at Home Depot.  As I previously stated, I already had the 3 center cacti, but as another flea market purchase, I bought several (6) smaller, interesting succulents and cacti from an elderly lady that was selling them as her specialty.


Now that I think about it, I got the Hammond organ model E-100 and Leslie 122 speaker, the rain lamp, the 1970's bamboo living room set, and the historic Wassily chairs *all* at flea markets or estate sales.  In other words, everything in our great room was purchased at these types of sales.  I will have to admit that our actual living room does have some store bought furniture, and I am certainly not opposed to that, the remaining decor in that room is also estate sale / flea market finds. 


This is the rain lamp that I paid $15 for at the Wentzville Flea Market last season.  Local antique stores and sellers on eBay regularly sell these lamps for $150 - 250:

I did get the following items at the same market this past Sunday, but they are hardly picture worthy:  1 - hand saw (for trimming bush honey suckle in my back yard!), 1 - large pair of hedge shears - for trimming the same over grown honey suckle!, and 1 - spray nozzle that was originally intended to allow the user to put an amount of soap in the attached container, dilute it with the incoming jet of water, and spray it over your car, house, etc.  My intent is to use this nozzle to dilute Miracle Grow for my outside plants this summer.  The total price for the saw, huge shears and spray nozzle (All nw, and in their original packaging):  $21.


Other shopping trips will have their own stories, but this one ends in the Pièce de résistance:

I cannot hide the fact that my recent 60 lb. weight loss proves that I am still the biggest fan (but maybe not literally!) of Easter Sugar Peeps, and Cadbury eggs.   I walked by a small booth run by a couple friendly ladies, and I saw this item:

Still in the box!  I had to have it!  I joked with them, "That is just what I need!  A machine that pumps these things out as fast as I can inhale them!"  Even though I did gently open the box when I got it home, only because curiosity was killing me, my intent is to leave this box on the shelf, as-is.  Just as an item of interest, and a nod to yet another one of my obsessions:  Sugar Peeps!  My purchase price for this bit of memorabilia:  $1.  SOLD!


(Did I mention that I have several boxes of real Sugar Peeps hidden away in a piano bench less than 6' away from this little item of interest? I know that if there is one place to hide ANYTHING small enough to fit, it is in a Hammond or piano bench!  Mark will *never* come close to those! he he he)


- Michael

My love affair with 'The Indian' continues.....

It is no secret to those who know me well that I embrace any and all cuisines and cultures on this planet.  Not only do they help me to see the beauty in this world (which helps me to be able to stomach those who are good representatives of their own culture(s) better!), but they keep my mind, my body, and all 5 of my senses malleable.  The uninitiated will never understand how *NOT* doing so will cripple them, and those unfortunate enough to be around them.  From first-hand experience, I can tell you that this will not 'probable', but it is most definite. I can cite examples, if necessary.

One of my favorite quotes available in the English language is an excerpt taken from Mark Twain's book, "Innocence Abroad":

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
- Innocents Abroad

Read that quote through a couple times, and let it sit a while.  Another way of saying it is, "If you believe that living and staying in any tiny corner of the world, without ever investigating as much of the world around you can tend to make you prejudice, bigoted and narrow minded. Like it or lump it, it is a true statement that cannot be avoided.
_________________________

Before I begin, I am am exceptional proof that a semi-vegetarian, and a lover of generally vegetarian Indian food can be a fat person, too!  That notwithstanding.....

I keep several Indian spices (and ironically enough, curry powder is not one of them) around the house, and cook with them almost every day.  "Masala" simply means 'spice', and there are hundreds of different pre-mixed masalas available at Global Market in Kirkwood, and Jay's International on South Grand.  These are the 2 largest International food markets in the St. Louis area, althought here are many others that are well worth the visit.  Global Market (not World Market!) has an isle for each cuisine: true Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, English (from England!), German, Polish, and many, many more.  There is one tiny section of one isle that will remind you of your typical American grocery market.  The taste, sight and aroma sensations in this store are unbelievable, and I crave them on a regular basis, even if it means just walking through the store, window shopping and soaking up the atmosphere, which I try to do on a regular basis.

Global Foods Market:

http://globalfoodsmarket.com/

 I add a bit of Garam Masala, Cumin, red pepper and Masala ("For Chicken", in the light yellow box) to steamed zucchini mixed with steamed brussel sprouts, and maybe a few ounces of grilled chicken, salmon, or other protein, and I call it lunch.  I liked those things even as a fat boy, so I didn't have to change anything.  When  mix one medium sized zucchini, a couple handfuls of brussel sprouts, and maybe the protein, all together, it is maybe 160 calories.  That usually makes enough for 2 lunches, if I want to split it!

Indian food is largely vegetarian, which is a 'better' choice.  You still have to watch the fried foods, and a few other things, but when it comes out in the wash, eating at an Indian restaurant is much better choice than most other options.  The only draw back is that Indian food is PACKED with flavor.  After you become to the wonderful flavor explosion of Indian food,  if you *ever* venture back into an Old Country Buffet or Sheri's Cafeteria, everything there will taste extremely flat and monotone.

I am friends with Prathibah Vasudevan and Shanta, two Indian / Hindu ladies that often go to the local St. Louis flower market.  They have invited Mark and I to the Hindu Temple's open house this weekend.  They are also serving brunch!  If I don't make a pig of myself, I can enjoy a decent meal, and not venture outside my daily calorie limit.... The bonus: The Hindu Temple on Weidman Road in Ballwin looks like somebody plucked it right out of the center of India, and plopped it in the middle of Ballwin! The exquisite details are breath taking. 

If I wear my facial hair in the "Raj Put" style, as I most often do when I go out of the house, I will get exceptional treatment (just ask Mark!), because I resemble a reverend warrior in Hindu and Indian history!  I love that!  Being treated exceptionally well for something that is naturally a part of myself!  :)

The Raj Put facial hair style:

For some visually stimulating Indian / Hindu photography, flip through some of their picture galleries on the main page.  (Click on "Goto site" to get past the council meeting message):
 
http://www.hindutemplestlouis.org/Home.aspx

Some excellent pictures:
http://www.hindutemplestlouis.org/Temple/VisitUs.aspx


- Michael

Today's Little Bitter Pills.....

1) Today, I find out that I am eligible for Medicare, Parts A & B.  That pill is a bit bitter for several reasons:

a) I am 42 yrs. old, and eligible for Medicare!

b) I can 'opt out', or decline Medicare at this time, if I don't need the assistance.  If / When I do decided to enroll, I am penalized 10% of the monthly payment for 12 months for every year I opt out. In other words, they are going to get my money, one way or the other. 

     Why is it that, in this country, we are penalized for being healthy?  I would think that the opposite should be true.  For example, every year that we opt out of Medicare, and do not use the government's money for our healthcare, we should be rewarded with a discount per month for the number of years that we chose to opt out.  Only in America are we penalized for being healthy!

2) It is no secret to those around me that I love vintage instruments, and especially vintage keyboard instruments.

Why I chose to look on eBay for Wurlitzer Electric pianos, when I already own one, I will never know.

Be careful what you look for - you might find it!  My little search turned up a classic Wurlitzer 200, the "archtype", and much sought after stage version of the Wurlitzer electric piano:

The current bids are only $510.  Not a bad price, considering that these instruments often sell for $1,200 - $1,500.  "What seems to be the problem?", you ask?  How can a good deal on something I have been seeking be a bad thing?  Let me sweeten the pot:  I was hoping this electric piano would be in California or New York, and the combined cost of the piano + shipping would be higher than I would be willing to pay.  The damned thing is in St. Louis - right down the street from me! I wouldn't have to pay shipping charges *at all*, and that would save me $95.  The other problem is that this auction ends in 5 hours, and it takes 3 business days for me to transfer the money from my bank account to my PayPal account!  In summary $500 is a GREAT price, and the item doesn't have to be shipped, but I don't have enough time to put the $500 in my PayPal account to pay for it...so... (Said like the Soup Nazi from Sienfeld).....  "No piano for you!"

So...I guess I am sitting on the Bitter Bus, drinking 'HaterAide!"

- Michael

Buying a live (Digital?) chicken in Guadlaraja

Buying a live (Digital!) chicken in Guadalajara!

I have had a cell phone in some form or other (and usually its most basic form) for over 13 years.

Mark is on my plan, and our bill is $68 a month - for 2 phones.  That is not $138, but a total of $68.  We have 1,000 minutes, and have never used more than 60 minutes in any month to talk to anyone other than to each other (which is free for probably all carriers at this point).

The subject of this blog is about unnecessary charges, and unnecessary or redundant technology.  It is not about chickens or Guadalajara!  

I will, however, be referring to a line in an episode of "Designing Women".  The "O, What a Feeling" episode.

Let me catch you up to speed.

The exact moment that I am referring to: (7:32 in this video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=872MLRnFzjc&feature=player_detailpage#t=450s

Or, to catch up, watch the entire episode:

Part I:

Part II (the "Buying a Chicken in Guadalajara" is at 7:32 in this video):

In summary, the character Mary Jo walks into an auto dealership a bit later than the other 3 ladies, and the remaining women (Julia, Suzanne and Charlene) are trying to buy a van to replace their van which is broken down along the highway.

Before Mary Jo's arrival on the scene, the 3 women were reluctantly, but progressively becoming victims of the salesman's tactics. 

Mary Jo arrives in time to save them some money!  She says to the dealer, "Let me see those papers!"  He hands them to her, and she says, "um hmmm! It's a $600 orange!"  When the salesman questioned her intent, she asked him, "Have you ever bought a live chicken in Guadalajara?"

The salesman says, "I'm lost!"  Mary Jo continues, "Well, when they first give you the price, it sounds pretty good.  Then..... there is a charge to *kill* the chicken...and a charge to pluck the chicken.....  then a charge to cut the chicken's head off, but even in Guadalajara, they don't have the nerve to charge a Processing Fee. What is that?"  and the story continues. 

Basically, the moral of this story is about stupid, hidden charges, and she systematically eliminated them before writing the check for the new van.  

I can't possibly remember all the times that I have been confronted with a cell phone salesman in the middle of a mall. When I tell them that an additional charge for a data package (which is needed to get that particular cell phone to work at all!) is ridiculous, I have a hand-held GPS that works perfectly, and I have a lap top and 4 other computers at home if any computing needs to be done.  I tell them that if they can give me *all* of these things on two phones for $68, I will fill out the paperwork now, and hand them my credit card.  I wish just once you could see the salesman running in the opposite direction from me, and I am following them!

Then...oh, then..... I tell them the entire story about "buying a chicken in Guadalajara", and I also tell the salesperson that when the price of that 'chicken' falls to below the price I am already paying, and it is all inclusive , I will be the first in line to buy one!  It will happen.  Sooner or later, it will happen.  Until then, when I am traveling through Guadalajara, as so to speak, I am an exclusive vegetarian!

A) On one hand, I can count the number of people that have my cell phone number.

B) I do not and will not answer my cell phone while driving my vehicle.  That is a dangerous practice - yes, even for you, too!

In fact, unless I am using a Blue-tooth enabled device, I turn my cell phone off before when I leave the house, and I don't turn it back on until I return home.

C) Texting. Really?  I mean c'mon!  Is there anything on the planet so damned important, or urgent that you can't CALL the person instead of sending them garbled alphanumeric information?  I have never sent a text message, I do not return them, and nor do I plan on doing so in the future.  Texting is one of the many moths that are rapidly eating their way through the fabric of today's society.  Your children and grandchildren are graduating high school without knowing proper English, and if they don't care about their own language, do you think they are going to learn a foreign language?

While we're going down this road, I would like to add:

Learning a foreign language not only teaches you more about your own language and culture, but it also encourages learning about the cultures of other people that share this planet, and you will become increasingly aware that the universe revolves around every soul on this planet, instead of only those that inhabit this country, which is a common misconception.  

Along the same lines, if somebody chooses to send me an e-mail or an instant message on-line, they really need to type in complete sentences.  If they do not, they will not receive a reply from me.  To paraphrase the game Wheel of Fortune, "If I am not important enough for you to spend enough time and energy for you to 'buy a vowel', as so to speak, then I don't care enough to waste my own time and energy to reply to you."

The moral of this saga:

A) Don't try to 'sell me a chicken in Guadalajara.  You won't be pleased with the results.

B) The merchandise you *do* manage to sell me needs to be of quality.

C) Cell phones **ARE NOT HOBBIES**, nor do they hone any worthy skills or talents that will increase your general worth as an asset to this planet.
     I would beseech you to invest in the time and energy required to refine a real skill that you can be proud of, and that will beautify this planet in some form or fashion, and that won't drain your wallet, and leave you empty handed.  (After you pay that hefty cell phone bill, what are you left with - that you can hold in your hand?  I will venture a guess:  NOTHING.) 

D) Addressed to all cell phone carriers:

Can you give me two 'smart phones' that have the best quality of service (internet speeds, etc), unlimited EVERYTHING at no additional charge for less than $68 / month, total, for both phones?  If you can - please contact me!  Although I am not much of a gambler, I would be willing to bet that such a 'plan' doesn't exist.

Until such time that one DOES exist, please don't bother me - and pedal your chickens elsewhere.  Guadalajara, perhaps?

- Michael

I thought it was cool THEN...and it is cool now... Retro!

This entire blog was inspired by a news clip that I saw yesterday on a local shop, "The Future Antiques of America", also known locally in St. Louis as "TFA". 100% of their merchandise is original mid-century modern classic furniture, clothing, and household items.  I have purchased a few things from this store, including a hard-to-find specialty piano role for my J Chein mini player piano.

I have always been attracted to vintage...everything!  In my belief system, vintage is anything more than 30 years old.  That would include "up to the late 1970's".

I do know folks who are excellent at incorporating up-to-date modern decor with antiques, and items from all eras.  While this is the best way to 'have your cake, and eat it too', I marvel at the attention to detail that is heeded in designing a space that is themed to the max!

When I was growing up (late 1960's - early 1980's), decor, clothing and other items from the mid-century to the early 1980's would have been in vogue.  However, my parents would never concern themselves with anything fashionable - period.  "I'm just sayin', and I'm only keeping it real."  I have photographic proof, if it is needed.  They haven't changed their ways, either.  I have learned how to live my live by exception, rather than following in their footsteps.

I absolutely refuse to be bound by the same self-inflicted chains that run and have ruined their lives.  Therefore, I embrace both the old and the new.

There are many spaces that I would choose to be my ultimate dream home. I am fond of an overly busy Moroccan, Indian (India) or other Middle Eastern space as well as I am attracted to an extremely sleek, clean, minimalistic space.  Mark and I have had lengthy conversations about how difficult the jobs of an architect and an interior decorator would be is money were limitless, and I had free reign over the design of my living space.

With that being acknowledged, the current home we live in was built in 195, with the back great room added in the early 1960's.  The kitchen is stuck in a bad 1970's sit com, and I wouldn't change a thing.  The back great room screams 1960's, with it's slanted roof, indirect florescent lighting along the length of the ceiling, original paneled walls, built-in shelving and a stone floor with huge grout lines.

"Our '60's Great Room":

(Note the sloped roof, and the indirect fluorescent lighting the full length of the room, and the grout lines on that floor!)

A second view:

I wouldn't change a thing about this space, and I would happily hunt down anyone that attempted to do so. If you have ever seen any of HGTV's shows that have to do with decorating or "flipping this house", you will have a front row seat on the bastardization of American design and decorating.  This country has a reputation all over the world for rapidly destroying it's history, or what little history we have to begin with.  The shows that I have mentioned are serving only to teach people how to do something less detail oriented, with less effort, and on-the-fly.

Back to my retro home:

This video clip ran recently on a local St. Louis news station, and featured a local shop, The Future Antiques of America ("TFA")  The clip in no way does the store justice, but it does give a general idea of the merchandise they carry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAom9NsLRbU

The Future Antiques of America's web site:

http://www.tfa50s.com/MainPage.htm

The folks at TFA go to the same haunts that I do - estate sales.  Most of the estate sales that I go to every weekend have the same items that are in the TFA store.  It's just a matter of who gets there first - myself, or their pickers! - and who wants it the most!

Mark hates anything vintage, because his late aunt had a room that was full of vintage furnishings, and that room was "off limits".  Please allow me to be the first to tell you that there isn't another person on this planet that has the power to make me neither despise nor love anything.  Those are my choices, and choices that I choose to make alone.   I love it all!  Through unparalleled vigilance and some sneaky purchasing tactics, I always seem to get my way.

I have had this lamp since I was a child:

 

Look up "panther TV lamp on eBay."  The retro store in the clip that I posted at the beginning of this blog sells these lamps upwards of $75.  This lamp sits on one of my Hammond organs, which by chance, is retro, too!

  This is my 1969 Hammond E-100.  The attached speaker, a Leslie 122 is sitting across the room.  I have a 1963 Hammond A-100 with its own Leslie 122 in an adjacent music room.  Note the lovely painting above the organ!  I paid $10 for that painting at an antique store, and walked across the parking lot to another antique store, saw the same painting with a rip in it - for $165.  The panther TV lamp that is in the picture above the organ is providing the uplight on the organ in the picture.

I also have a 1966 Wurlitzer Electric piano:

This is a video of the Wurli Electric piano in action:

That lovely 3D ship painting!:

 

(Hammond A-100 with Leslie 122 speaker identical to my rig

Get those damned plants off the organ and speaker!  It's an instrument,

not a fern stand!)

A video of the Hammond A-100 / Leslie 122 speaker. Actually, it is me playing my own Hammond A-100 and piano in a 'clone situation.

But...but.... I also have two sets of the huge glass grapes!  I have always been intrigued by those!

Just a few feet away from the glass grapes, and hanging near my Hammond E-100 is an oil rain lamp, the Grist Mill version. (BTW - I am still looking for a matching 36" hanging Venus rain lamp to hang on the opposite side of the organ!

 

(I bought my lamp in excellent condition at a flea market for $15!  The same lamp is priced at $250 on eBay.)

My next quest (and they are more rare than you would think):

Another estate sale find brought us 2 Wasilly chairs.  These chairs are an example of an item that appears to fit into an era or a decade, but they are, in fact, from a much earlier period.  These chairs were invented in 1925 - 1926, but appear to be from the 1950's or 1960's.  There are wonderful bargains to be found at estate sales.  We shopped at the House of Denmark furniture store, and these chairs are available (on sale) for $1,600.  Regular price: $2,200.  I got both chairs for $225 - for the pair!

A good description of  the Wassilly Chairs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Chair

1) An original Egg Pod chair:

    An original Egg Pod chair in *EXCELLENT* condition is between $5, 000 - 8,000.  An original egg pod chair in *BAD* condition, and in need of complete restoration is $1,000 - 1,500!

2. A Spaghetti lamp:

    They are not rare, and not horribly expensive.  I just haven't made the purchase yet.  There are a lot of these lamps out there, in all shapes and sizes.  Choices, choices, choices!  They come in swag, pole lamps, desk many other types of lamps

Only 2 items on my wish list?  My first thought was, "I wish my life was that simple!" .... and then I thought about it for a fraction of a second.  Let me rephrase that thought, "I am thrilled that I am a much more complex person!"

It would be much easier expressed as, "Every weekend I go to estate sales, and most of them feature both vintage furnishings and vintage clothing.  If I brought home everything that appealed to me, I would need to buy my entire subdivision to house all my treasures!"

- Michael

My latest estate sale find....All I need is one more damned hobby!

To quote Martha Stewart, when she discovered yet another interest, she said, "All I need is just one more damned hobby!"  Personally, I don't know how she has time to peruse ANY hobbies, much less all the interests she has lined up.

Everyday, I understand that quote more an more, because it has become an accurate description of my own life.

I play music in my music room on one of my keyboard instruments for 2 - 3 hours a day, every day.  I also knit year-round, I bicycle when my body and the climate will allow me to do so, and I keep up with the care and attention required of our 4 dogs and one very mouthy African Gray parrot.  I go to estate sales almost every weekend, and during spring / summer / fall months, I go to many locally large nationally recognized art shows and cultural events.   I also try to maintain somewhat of an organized home (!!)

That brings me back to the estate sales...

(Spoiler:  This blog is *not* about musical instruments.  Hang in there, and I will circle back around!)

Today, I went to a sale that had yet another keyboard instrument for sale.  This one is a digital piano, a Casio Previa.  I already have one of these pianos, and it is the keyboard that I play during my daily practice sessions.  Why would I want another instrument that is identical to the one I already have?   Such is my life, in general, the answer is not that simple.  It's not that cut-and-dried.

When I bought my Casio Previa digital piano, it did not come with a bench, or a stand that was specifically made for it.  Currently, I am using two speakers as a keyboard stand, and a Hammond organ bench.  Actually, I like this arrangement, but it does spoil me a bit too much. How so?  Organ benches sit higher than piano benches, and the speakers that I am using as a make-shift keyboard stand elevate this particular digital piano much too high.  The problem is this:  If / when I play an acoustic piano, whether it be an upright or a grand piano, etc, they keyboard is much lower than what I am accustomed to.  Having to adjust to a different instrument is one situation, altogether, but having to adjust to a different instrument where the keys and the bench at are the wrong heights makes  mental adjustments that I have to make on-the-fly more difficult.

The Casio Previa:
http://www.privia.eu/euro/

So....

I was wanting to buy this second Casio Previa so I would have a digital piano that was at the correct height for me to practice on.  At any rate, I did arrive at this West County St. Louis estate sale, only to find the price of my sought-after keyboard was more elevated than I expected to find.  While it is known in this area that the prices of estate sale items in the West County St. Louis are elevated, I did not expect to find this digital keyboard priced at $350.  I did pay $600 for my version of the Casio Previa, but that was only two years ago, and it was brand-new-out-of-the-box.   The particular version of this keyboard that I found at the estate sale was priced at $350, and it was a year or two years older than that one I currently own.  I could cough up $150, at the most, but not $350 for an instrument of that age.  Most estate sales do drop the price of their items by 50% on the second day, but I don't think I am going to revisit this one.  I will let it go. 

This, however, is what I found:

The last room I walked into in this home, before continuing my little shopping spree in a retail setting.  There was a box of yarn!  After my eyes adjusted from seeing spots, I looked around the room to see if there were knitting needles, fabric, or other things that would indicate a life-long interest in the fiber arts.   These colors are bright, but I love them! 

If you will look in the back of this picture, I have piled up the skeins of yarn that originally got my attention.  These would make wonderfully fun socks, a scarf / hat combo, or this yarn would give me a good head start on a Rastafari hat! 

I approached the box, and noticed a couple crocheted granny squares at the bottom of the box.  "No big deal", I thought to myself, "This dear lady bought all this yarn and made a few granny squares, with the intent to complete an afgan that she never had the opportunity to finish."  I paid $10 for the box, continued my shopping spree at Borders, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Walmart and Sally Beauty Supply (Hey - I gotta get the bleach somewhere!), before I continued home.

When I got home, started to investigate my little treasure a bit closer.  Those granny squares that I lined up in the photograph are but a small sample of what was actually in that box!  The remaining granny squares are packed tightly in the box next to the stack of yarn is the photograph.  OMG, indeed!

Take a look at the following page from the magazine that was included with this sale.  This pattern is from Family Circle, Oct 1, 1987.  This box of yarn and granny squares also contained 3 pages of instructions that were removed from the Family Circle magazine, AND the correct size crochet hook.  The instructions called for a size "J" hook, and there is, indeed, a size "J" hook in the box!

I can tell that this was most likely the first crochet project that this woman ever attempted.  It is an industry standard for knitters and crocheters to take all their yarn, and wind it into balls before beginning any project.  This patient soul was crocheting directly from the skein.  I found several skeins that were semi-depleted,  from the outside in!  She also had loose ends everywhere in these squares.  Personally, I would have woven all the loose ends from the 3 separate colors that are in each square before continuing to the next square.  All 138 granny squares that she had completed still had at least 6 tails sticking out of each square.

My dilemma grows larger! 

When I go to estate sales, flea markets or antique malls, I am always 100% conscious of the things that I am looking to purchase were once somebody's birthday present, they were once safely tucked away under a Christmas Tree awaiting Christmas Day, or they might have been a Mother's Day gift, Father's Day gift, wedding gift, and the list continues.  This stuff was once important to someone, somewhere.  Even thought I might occasionally repurpose an item, I always do so with dignity and respect, keeping in the forefront of my mind the object's possible history.  I don't know if it is the Buddhist in me, or what the deal is, but I always am aware of the life that an item might have had, and without fail, I will always recognize that life.

My original intent was to make the "few" granny squares that I originally thought I had into a simple  pillow, or a small throw.  I immediately realized that what this lady did is closely related to playing "99 bottles of beer on the wall", and getting down to 97 bottles and quitting before finishing! Had she made only a few squares, I would have no problem with completing a small project, and using the remaining yarn for my own purposes, but since she has 87% of this project completed, and probably hundreds of hours of work involved in it, I have only one choice:  I have to complete this afghan.  I have a California King size bed.  I would have to almost double the size of this afghan to make it into a full bedspread, so a large afghan will work nicely.

This poor lady, God love her!  The grid in the bottom right-hand corner of this scan is the diagram for the entire afghan.  180 squares are required to make this afghan.  I counted the squares that she had completed.  138 squares completed.  This dear instruction-abiding woman had only 23% of the squares to make, and then she would have had to piece it together, and she would have been finished.  This magazine article first teaches simple crochet techniques before making the afghan.  I know by observing her crocheting habits and techniques that she was definitely a beginner, but her gauge was impeccable!  Up to the point where she stopped working on this project, she was following the instructions, letter-for-letter. 

Another dilemma to add to the "dilemmade"!

I can knit like a mad man, but I can't crochet to save my life.  To the uninitiated, the difference and similarities between knitting and crocheting are the same as with playing piano and organ.  Many people play one, or the other, the piano or the organ, but not both.  The only similarity is that they both have keys.  The same is true of knitting and crocheting.  Both knitting and crocheting are working with yarn, and you use an implement (two knitting needles or a crochet hook), but that is where the similarities end.  They are vastly different techniques with very different results.

Depending on the complexity of the pattern I am following, if I have a knitting pattern in front of me, I can carry on a conversation and knit at the same time.  The next stitch on the knitting needle is the one to be worked. It really is that simple.  With crocheting, you have to know whether you are doing a slip stitch, single crochet, double, half double, or triplet crochet stitch!

With knitting, you have to have ONE stitch memorized:  The knit stitch.  A purl stitch is simply a reversed knit stitch.  Anywho, knitting is much easier, IMHO, than crocheting.  The next couple photographs are just a small sample of my knit items.  Not that there is no crochet here.  :)

 

I can knit like a  mad man, but if I have to learn how to crochet to complete this dear woman's project, there is a really good chance that I will make Linda Blair (in "The Exorcist") look like Mother Theresa blessing the shut-ins!

Does anybody have a knitting pattern that will produce a crochet-looking granny square?  I've done my own internet searches, but haven't turned anything up that is promising!   I'm gong to have to bit the bullet, and to quote my mentor, Martha, "I'm gong to have to get one more damned hobby!"

- Michael