The Champion. We Got a Juicer!

We juiced for the first time today.

It wasn't a terribly adventurous recipe--carrot orange--but we went simple for our first time.

It was like liquid sunshine.

A perfect drink for this gray morning.

Isn't it pretty?

Our juicer is a vintage Champion.
The Champion.
I love the name, don't you?

It belonged to my parents, who hadn't used it in years and years.
They gave it to us a while ago, but the cord was broken so it sat in the cabinet, unused.
Aaron fixed it this weekend--he's so handy--and this morning I set the beast up on the counter and the kids and I decided it was time to make juice.
The Champion is a lovely shade of 70s green, big, and is solid.
It weighs a ton.

It has all the original parts.
My favorite is the beautiful wooden tamper and the original recipe and instruction booklet.
It was not super easy for me to put all the parts on and get The Champion operational.
Nothing went together easily and it didn't help that reading technical directions of any kind is not my forte.
Give me a poem and I can pull every nuance of meaning out it you could imagine, but directions for putting together a juicer nearly put me over the edge.
Thankfully I have an 8 year old with a very excellent mind for figuring out the way things work, and who is quite skilled at understanding visual diagrams.
Between the two of us we figured it out.
I only yelled, "arrrrgh!  I hate this thing!" one time.
William scolded me, of course, with at look and these words, "Mom, saying you hate something is like saying kill.  Do you want to kill the juicer?  You're not supposed to say that, Mom."
Can you imagine his lecture if he heard me curse?

Finally, we were ready to juice something.
We started with a bunch of organic carrots.
I thought the  kids would be more open to something not green.
At least for their first time.

They all cheered when the first carrot went through and the juice poured out.
It was so exciting!
(I didn't think about the pulp coming out.  What do you do with all that pulp?  Anything?)

 They were also thrilled by the color of the juice.
"It's so orange, Mom!"

Next we headed outside and picked a bunch of oranges from our very own trees.
We used both the navels and the blood oranges.

As per my mom's suggestion, I peeled the oranges.
She remembered being often disappointed by bitter orange juice.
I figured that must have been from the pith or peel, or both, when you juice the whole orange.
It took a little extra time, but it was worth it to avoid bitter juice.
Everyone took a turn pushing down the fruit.

 Taste test time!

 

Even with a distinct carrot flavor, everyone loved our juice.

It got a thumbs up all around.

I have to say it was some of the most delicious juice I have ever had.
Part of it, I'm sure, was the fact that the oranges were right from our own tree.
Also, that it was juiced minutes before we drank it.
But I think, like so many other things, home made just tastes better.
That is why I make so many things from scratch.
It is messier, takes longer, and requires more effort, but it is almost always worth it.
We'll be juicing lots more, for sure.
And so I need recipes.
Do you have any favorites?
I'm looking forward to trying some green juices and getting those into my kids.
I'm looking for recipes that will help us fight off the colds and flus that seem to be everywhere this winter.
I'd love to hear your favorites recipes, or recipe sources if you have any.

After we got The Champion put together, we had so much fun with our new juicer, and especially enjoying the fruit of our labor.
Here's to two of my favorite things, vintage and homemade!
Happy Tuesday!
Love from,
Greta

Out WIth the Old and In With the New: The Art on our Walls

I am happy to say that Aaron's been selling quite a few paintings as of late.

I am sad to say that I miss them when they go.

To see him making his art, the things that are inside him and who he is, and to know that people get it and like it, well, it's wonderful.

Making art makes Aaron happy.

Making art that people enjoy makes Aaron happy.

All of this makes me happy, too.

I guess it's just that even when it's for a good reason, it's still always hard to say good-bye.

The first big painting he did for us, one that hung on our walls through James' first 3 years of life, and then sold to a friend, is still missed.

It was a pair of giant Converse high tops.  (see it here)

James learned what a star was from that painting while it hung in our living room.

He still talks about it sometimes.

Then there was this painting that Aaron sold a while back.

James actually cried when he found out Aaron sold it.

We recently said goodbye to our trailer, Bambi.

Many of our friends expressed dismay that it was for sale.

"It is so you!' they said, "you can't sell it."

But Aaron took it off our walls.

Still, when Aaron got the call that it had sold, he said he felt just a little bit sick to his stomach.

It was a real favorite.

That's the hard thing about the art on our walls--it becomes a part of us, and thus, it is hard to say good-bye.

It's exciting to watch Aaron's paintings sell, and to know that people love them like we do.

But I won't say we don't miss them.

The above painting, "I Like Eich" is Aaron's newest.

I love it so much.

So, so, much.

If you are at all a fan of mid-century architecture, then you are probably familiar with the name, Joseph Eichler.

You know his houses.

And, if you are like me, you wouldn't mind living in one some day.

This painting celebrates the classic Eichler houses.

The windows, the roof lines, and the clean, modern look that makes them so special.

Eichler was not the architect, but the developer of the communities that bear his name.

But because he had an penchant for modern design, his houses all share a similar design sense.

It's one that Aaron and I, and many other people, like very much.

Aaron designed the painting and it is all painted free hand.

He is amazing like that.

It's perfect for someone who really Likes Eich!

Right now, there is only one painting, but he hopes to make prints like it soon.

Which is good news to me, because he took this painting off my kitchen wall this morning and took it to sell at Just Modern in Palm Springs.

Hopefully I'll at least get a print, right?

If you've been reading my blogs for any amount of time, you might remember some of the other paintings that we've had hanging in the house.

First there was ICE.

I loved ICE and we had it for a couple of years before Aaron thought of selling it.

He sold it ast week.

Getting this note from the new owner helped:

"Just wanted to let you know that I'm the new owner of "ICE" - just purchased it today from a shop in Palm Springs.  From the second I saw it, I loved it! "

That's the kind of thing that makes an artist's heart happy.

And his wife's heart swell with pride.

After ICE was gone, Aaron made the Bear, which he titled Promised Land.
I also loved this one.
We didn't have him up for too long.
He sold at Aaron's recent show.

I suppose the reason we love these paintings so much, aside from the fact that Aaron made them and we're his biggest fans and think everything he does is great, is that they are just a part of our life in our home.

We do a lot of living with these paintings.

See?

And now that Eich is gone, the wall in the kitchen looks awfully bare.

Good thing I know an artist who can fill it back up again.

At least for a while.

You know what they say, the cobbler's children never have shoes, the doctor's children are always sick, and the artist's home always has bare walls.

Perhaps it's time for me to commission my artist for my very own piece.
The kids want their own paintings too.
We all thought it high time Aaron make each of the kids their very own painting to keep for always.
He was going to do it for Christmas.
But in the hustle and bustle of it all, we both forgot.
I think some birthday paintings are in order.
I guess I'm going to be keeping my painter busy for a while.
That is the fun part about all this, I do love seeing what he's going to come up with next.
It's always such a good surprise.

If you're still bothering to read this blog, thanks!
I'm hopeful there will be more regular posts in the new year.
The new year is nothing but full of good hopes, right?
So, I hope I'll be seeing you soon!

Love from,

Greta

PS.  Aaron is working on getting a website up and running where he can show some of his hand carved, linoleum block prints, paintings and hopefully silk screened and giclee prints as well.  

I'll let you know when it's operational.

For Your Christmas List: Books About Nature by Thornton Burgess

Hi friends!

It hasn't even been a month, and yet, here I am.

I'm hoping to get a few of these posts in before Christmas, but we'll see how that goes.

Most of the time I am an optimist, so I'll believe that those posts are going to get written.

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking about Christmas gifts.
I've even gotten a few.
And I have my list of the things I am making for people all written out.

In my head.

It's not even December, so I am waaaay ahead, right?

Ha!

I've never been one of those, "it's August and I'm already done with my Christmas shopping!" kind of people.

I'm more like, "it's Christmas eve and I'm still wrapping presents!  Ahhhh!"

We'll see where this Christmas eve finds me.

The optimist in me says I'll be watching the Christmas pageant and playing games with my family, not hiding in the back room wrapping gifts.

In an effort to help you give less plastic stuff that will only be donated to the Goodwill in a matter of months, I thought I'd share one of my favorite gifts to give every Christmas: BOOKS!

Each Christmas, I choose a special book for each one of my children.

The book is hardcover, and is meant to be a book they will keep forever.

I like to think that by the time they have their own kids, each one will have the start of a fabulous book collection.

The books are different each year.

Sometimes they reflect the current interest of the child, or reflect the child's personality at the time.

No matter what, I chose each book especially for each child.

I like books with beautiful illustrations, or great design, and good writing.

Some are new, some are vintage, but they are always timeless sort of books, not trendy.

No biographies of Justin Beiber here!

This past weekend, I was able to spend the night away in Palm Springs, all by myself!
It was such a nice break from my regular life.
I did quite a bit of napping and reading by the pool, and a bit of thrifting too.
Usually we go to Palm Springs in the summer, when it's a million degrees and no one else is there.
The thrifting is awesome then.
It's high season now, and the thrifting is considerably less awesome.
More competition.
But I did find a few treasures: a pink, J. Crew sundress for $4, a gorgeous, vintage green coat, and some books.
When I found this one, I gasped, and said, out loud, "Ohhh, treasure!"
A lady standing next to me looked at the book in my hands, and smiled at me like I was crazy.
I am crazy.
For good books.

Do you know Thornton Burgess?
He is one of our favorite authors.
I was unfamiliar with him until James' first year of school when The Burgess Bird Book was part of our curriculum.
The next year we read the Burgess Animal Book.
My kids loved them both.

If your child is an animal lover, or if you want to learn more about birds, I cannot recommend these books enough.

Because they are told as stories, and each animal or bird is a character, there is none of the dry, textbooky, feeling that so often accompanies non fiction reading.

Yet I still consider them part of our science curriculum because they are so full of information about all sorts of birds and animals.

Also, because they are stories, they can be reread and enjoyed each time.

It's funny that I never bothered to look at other books written by Thornton Burgess simply because they weren't on my curriculum list.

Hence the gasp when I found this one, Longlegs the Heron.

I had no idea that there were so many other books written by Thornton Burgess.

And now I have a whole lot more books to look for!

Interestingly enough, the kids are taking part in some presentations with our home school group tomorrow.

Each child chose a mammal that we might see out and about on our hikes, studied it, and is presenting on it to the group.

My kids have made dioramas of their mammal's habitat, and created little posters with interesting facts about the mammal.

James chose a bear, William an otter, and Lilly a rabbit.

What are the chances I can find those 3 books by Thorton Burgess for under the Christmas tree this year?

How perfect would that be?

Looks like I am off to search the world wide web!

If you're looking for some more books to give this Christmas, here are a few of our other favorites:

every book by M. Sasek, books by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire,  books by Holling Clancy Holling, this book and others by Robert Mccloskey, The Secret Garden was a hit with all the kids and I just love it in this cover, and here are heaps of books written by Thornton Burgess.
What are some of your favorite children's books?

Happy Christmas, friends!

Love from,

Greta

More Vintage Signs From the Central Coast

Has it really been a month since I last posted here?

There is a part of me that would like to be really bummed out about that, but I am not going to listen to her.

Instead, I am going to tell you that since I last posted school started.

And let me tell you, home schooling this year is kicking me in the booty.

This is the first year where I am schooling both boys.

William was in kinder last year, and I am of the old fashioned mindset about kindergarten: it should not be stressful.  

It should be fun.

It was.

And therefore, it was a relatively easy year for both of us.

But this year there is a bit more work to be done.

Both boys are young enough to need a fair amount, or a lot, of hands on help still.

So, I am quite busy being a full time teacher to the both of them.

And then there is Lilly.

On the first day of school, she sat at the table with us as she always does, drawing picture after picture.

I told the boys it was time for math.

"Where's my math?" she asked.

Sheesh.

So basically I am scrambling because I did not anticipate that my 4 year old would want to be doing a full curriculum with her brothers.

She wants to write, to read, to spell, to do math--the works.

Girls.

They really are different, aren't they?

And then there is David.

I wrote a bit about him here.

Trying to teach school to the big kids, keep up with the house, the yard, cooking, and the myriad of other things on my to do list, all with my busy, busy, 1 year old running around, is almost more than I can handle.

And some days, it is more than I can handle.

Hence the lack of blog posts.

Blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list of things I get to do after I get everything else done.

Because I never do get everything else done, I don't blog.

Anyway, like I said, I am not going to be depressed about this, even though I do miss blogging fiercely.

If you are not an avid blogger you probably don't fully get this.

"It's. A. Blog," you're thinking.  "What's the big deal?"

I know.

But writing and picture taking mean a lot to me.

My mind, my heart and yes, even my soul, are all filled when I am in this space.

So letting it go has been hard.

I feel like I have gone through the 5 stages of grief with this process.

It sounds lame.

But it's true!

It's been a tough road, but I think I have finally made it to the acceptance stage.

I am willing to take what I can get and be thankful for it.

That might mean blogging once a month.

Or twice.

Or maybe even less.

I keep reminding myself that this is a season.

Right now it feels like the end of winter.

I am slogging through the mud looking for the first flowers of spring.

But soon enough, things will change again, and the mud won't be quite so deep.

At least I've got cute, pink rain boots to see me through.

I've also got some more vintage signs to share with you.

We spent last week up north on the Central Coast.

It was utterly beautiful.

And while vacationing with 4 young kids is not relaxing, it was fun.

We had amazing food, soaked up the abundant natural beauty, and went on plenty of fabulous hikes.

We also kept our eyes peeled for vintage signs.

Here are 3 of my favorites.

This one is in downtown San Luis Obispo.  

I've loved it since Aaron and I first visited  SLO, 12 years ago.

This one is from a tiny, little town between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
We drove through it on that same trip to San Luis, 12 years ago, but had forgotten about it.
We drove through again this year, on our way back home.
Davy was sleeping, and the kids were anxious to get to In and Out for dinner, so we didn't get out and walk around, but I did snap this one shot.
I like the looks of this town.
And I like this sign.

And then there is this sign.
Oh how I do love it and all its kitchyness!
Isn't it adorable?
We saw it as we were getting on the on ramp for the 101 in San Luis.
"That's a cool sign!" I yelled.
Aaron got off at the next exit and backtracked to find it for me.
I love that man.

Here's hoping I get back here before another month slips by.
And if you're sticking around through this season I'm in, I do so appreciate it.
Thanks for visiting.
And do come again!
Love from,
Greta

Meet Our Vintage Canvas Tent

In his relentless pursuit to vintagafy our entire life, Aaron has been scouting out vintage camping gear.

We have our picnic basket and lots of vintage camping dishes, we've got vintage thermoses, and some vintage wool camping blankets.

But there is so much more out there.

I found this set of vintage pots at the thrift store.

Aren't they awesome?

Part of me wanted to keep the labels on, and save these pots to display in the trailer we're going to get someday.
Just display, not use.
Collecting vintage can become a sickness.
So I resisted the urge and we used them on our most recent camping trip.
Even without the labels I love them and was happy every time I used them.

We also used our vintage canvas tent!
A vintage, canvas tent has been high on the list of coveted camping accessories for a long while now.
Aaron put out the word that he was looking for one and a friend of ours said his parents had one they'd sell us.
It's in perfect shape even though it's 40 + years old.
The tent is the colors of the Swedish flag and it's huge.
The 6 of us fit in with room to spare.

Why don't they make canvas tents anymore?
Yes, they're heavy, but it's not like I'm backpacking with it, so who cares?
Canvas tents are vastly superior to nylon.
Unless you're backpacking.
Or caught in a rainstorm.
But we weren't.
So it was awesome.
And, it's been approved by Sir Edmund Hillary.
Definitely a keeper.

Aaron, along with a lot of help from James, got the tent up easily.

The kids raced inside to check it out.

They approved.

But the best part of the tent is the awning!
Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?

I was dying about that awning.

Do you know how many vintage trailers I've seen with awnings like that and just longed for one of my own?

I never dreamt of a tent with an awning!

So until that day when the trailer of our dreams comes along, cute awning included, of course, I'll rest happy under the awning of my vintage, canvas tent.

The tent was pretty popular at the campsite.

We got lots of questions and compliments on it.

But the rest of our campsite is in need of work.

Right now it looks like this:

But we have dreams of making it look a lot more like this:

Are we crazy?

Maybe just a bit.

Crazy for vintage camping gear!

Aren't you?

Love from,

Greta