a little Saturday fun!

Uncooperative weather today lead us to an auction in Wilksboro. We've been to this place before and Picked up some Interesting things at decent prices. We've learned that most of the People that come to these auctions are dealers. They either have Shops or they re-sell what they buy on e-Bay. This means Steals are few and Far between, but that's okay. We go for the Entertainment of it all, and when we have Nothing better to do and the Weather keeps us inside. Today was one of Those days! 

North Carolina pottery always manages to do Well at auction

I find these Face pieces interesting but not enough to Own one

the Cold rain brought out quite a Crowd today

this is for Yolanda. She'll know why...

There's nothing like some good People watching!

I have never Seen so many (useless) Cameras in one place!

they got Tired of selling them in small Lots so after about

an hour they began to clear them out by Tables

one table, with 250 cameras on it, sold for $100

I wasn't even Tempted!

not by this Either. I have enough Glass! T picked up two WWII

bayonets. One Russian, one German. I don't know why, but he did!

we Left the auction house for a while to grab some lunch... Not our

usual Choice of fare but there's not a lot in Wilksboro to choose from!

I've never seen so much Pyrex dinnerware. I would have liked

to have the Green set but honestly, I have no room for it and I'm

holding out for the Monogrammed dinnerware I love at Potterybarn!

this Piano was once owned by Dr. Blah-Blah and all his kids,

who are now in their Forties learned to play on it... Despite the build-

up, nice condition and History of this piece, it only sold for $130

this made me Laugh...

Look at the finials and attached Tassels! Oh, and the bolster pillows attached

to the Armrests too... Hysterical! Both pieces sold for $10 - Together!

They sold 2 cabinets full of Bird figurines and they brought quite a

bit More than they were worth. There was a woman that Bid against

everyone and paid no Less than $80 per figurine. When it was all said

and done, she was into the Collection for $2,000.00. When I returned to

my Seat, the lady behind me showed me a Printout she'd brought listing

all the Pieces and their approximate Value. Not one of the Birds that woman

bought listed for over $39.99. Incredible! I picked up these two small birds from

the same big Collection that the High-bidder lady had no interest in for only $20 for

the pair. The lady behind me with the List said what I paid was about right. I don't

really care what they are worth... I just wanted the Bluebird because we raise so

many Bluebirds in the back yard each year. The Kingfisher figurine was just a bonus!

I also picked up this Churn. I was high bidder at $40 - there were two

and I won Choice. I took the larger one because it's in Perfect condition

All in all it was a fun way to Spend a rainy Saturday afternoon!

remember Slime?

William and I conducted a Science experiment tonight for his physical science class... As soon as I saw it coming together I said, Wow! You made SLIME! Remember slime? I remember going to Toyland in Germany in 1978 and my dad buying us these miniature Plastic garbage cans filled with something called, Slime. First, there was green slime and later there was purple Slime that came with rubber worms mixed into it. It was fun to play with but I remember it didn't Mix well with the shag carpeting we had in the living room. Any way, I think retro-Slime is what William created in tonight's experiment...  although he Reminded me that since he wasn't around in the 70's he couldn't very well use my Slime story to describe the material he came up with after mixing a Borax (remember Borax!?) solution with Elmer's glue. Instead, he wrote that it resembles Pudding that's been left in a bowl under the Couch for a week. I just hope that isn't something he's seen in Our house! Now I'm afraid to go look under the couch in his TV room. 

Doing these experiments and the other Assignments that have been sent home for William during this little Vacation he's on has me thinking that I could have probably Home schooled my boys and enjoyed it. I know, I know... And, I'll say it before you do! There are Whole schools of teachers, here and in Monterey probably wishing I had home schooled William! Got it...

Here's our Scientist!

adding Borax to 1 pint water

did you know PVA is Elmer's Glue? I had no idea... I had to

google it and then send T to Walgreen's to get some!

SLIME! Pink slime...

after the Experiment was over, William continued to play

... and Play!

I hoped but didn't Expect this!

I always expect the Meals I put together to be enjoyed, and while I always Hope that what I throw together becomes a new Favorite, I wasn't expecting the Reaction my salad and especially my New vinaigrette creation got tonight!

We are both Huge salad eaters but it's usually Newman's Caesar over romaine for me and Marie's Thousand Island with a chopped hard-boiled Egg thrown into it over a tossed Garden salad for him. Or, when I'm grilling Filets, it's something Lazy-simple, such as a plate of sliced English cucumber, tomatoes and Red onion drizzled with Italian, straight from a bottle. But I knew the moment Mom served me her salad last week that Caesar was out and that this would be my Favorite, now and forever... Amen. But I wasn't so sure about him. Turns out, I didn't have to Wonder long about how he liked it because after I finished loading the dishwasher I noticed my Bowl was missing. It's not a big Kitchen so I went into the Den to ask if he knew where it was. And this is what I found...

Wonderhubby eating the Remainder of my salad by the fireplace,

straight out of the Mixing bowl... He LOVED it! And, thank Goodness, because

10 bottles of Trader Joe's White Balsamic Vinegar is a lot for just little ole' me!

Working on it!

Woke up this afternoon from my Second nap ready to admit that I've been feeling Homesick since my return from Monterey one week ago today... 

Homesick for mom and dad, homesick for the beautiful Scenery I traded in for North Carolina, homesick for the Friends I saw again, and just homesick in General. I don't usually get Down and I've never, ever felt like I've been Depressed in any way that mattered... Even when things aren't going just My way I can't help but feel Happy and inspired by my Life. Besides, when things don't go my Way I'm always too busy working my Plan B, which is always to make Plan A work, to be bothered. Nevertheless, my dad's illness and Surgery and my trip back Home and the great time we had just being Together, thrown on top of missing Brandon the same way I imagine missing my right arm if it were Severed at the elbow, has had me feeling slightly blue. 

Fortunately, I am my Father's daughter, so today I pulled up my Big-girl panties and decided to GET THE HELL ON WITH IT before anyone besides Me noticed!

And, I couldn't think of a Better way to get Happy again than to replicate the dinner my Mom made my first night back on the Peninsula. Besides, those Ten bottles of White Balsamic Vinegar I bought at Trader Joe's in Monterey survived being checked through Continental all the way back to North Carolina so it was High time to pay some Serious homage!

Well, lookie-there! Dole as a salad Mix with a White Balsamic

Vinaigrette. How nice for them! But I'll make my own, Thank you!

Shopping for Bell peppers, these signs Alarmed me a little... The yellow Highlight on the sign

there screams, CAUTION! to me, the same way Police tape does... And, the Way they went

out of their way to denote, Product of Mexico has me more than a bit worried too...

Although Phillip, the produce guy, said it's always Been there, I've never noticed

this Sign before. Hum... I wonder what he would do if I asked him to Toss together

a quick Salad to allow me a taste of his fine Vegetables before I commit to buying

them... I'd start with those Suspect looking Bell peppers from Mexico!

I-Heart-You, Trader Joe's White Balsamic Vinegar! And, since you were

packed in with all my Clothes and good Shoes, I'm so glad you Made it!

I wasn't Kidding... I'm scrubbing those Peppers!

Kitchen time = Bing time!

I mixed Dole's Baby Lettuces mix with a bag of

their European salad Mix. Into the Bowl they go!

putting my German wieners on...

... to boil. The trick is Not to pop them!

Back to our Salad-making extravaganza!

Sure is Pretty and I haven't even added those Mexican peppers yet!

a little Kosher salt

and, lots of Cracked black pepper makes it Better!

and Now for the Magic! Mom said it doesn't take much... However,

when I asked her, How much do I add? she just said, You'll know... 

Now I've added the olive oil too.  This smells Ah-mazing!

finished with a little Feta and a toss!

I was careful to add just a little Vinegar before I tasted... I was close

so I added just a splash more until it was Just like mom's. Perfect! 

This is what Carmel Valley in Summer

tastes like to me... Where is my Fork?

Now, this can Cure homesickness...

... well, Almost. I'm working on it!

King Cake from Whole Foods... Why not?

We popped over to Whole Foods this evening because I wanted to pick up some Tulips like the ones I brought home to mom from the Monterey Whole Foods last week. However, I was immediately reminded again how non-Fantastic our Whole Foods is compared to the one in Monterey... Because while Monterey has a huge selection of Cut flowers to choose from, our sad little Whole Foods barely has 6 little buckets of cut flowers and not one of them had Tulips in them today. Poop! So no flowers for me... Nevertheless, we did pick up some Pitas, hummus, fruit and Cheese to nibble on for lunch tomorrow and after Sampling the King Cake, we took that home too!

Yum!

the icing is just right - not too sweet. The pastry is tender

and flaky and the Cream cheese filling is perfect!

Bing's still over there in the Sink watching the water...

Let's have some King cake!

William invited Hanna over this evening... She loves to play Scrabble, which just

happens to be my Favorite game too. I knew there was a Reason I like her so much!

And, she likes Cake too! Hanna got the Charm in the slice

I cut for her! Look at William and those Dimples...

I slipped Bing a little icing and he Loved it!