Pink Crocheted Scarf

I finished up one last project for 2011!  It's a pink crocheted scarf.  It's so pretty and I can't wait to wear it.  It's really long, perfect for wearing in a European Loop. 

I haven't crocheted in decades!  I have been knitting a bit.  A tiny bit.  Washcloths.  Do not be impressed.  I used to crochet like crazy and even made some afghans in my day.  Still, I was never a pro and I never was a perfectionist about it.  A true yarn artist would be amused (or horrified) by my creations.

My mom made a scarf for my niece, Sarah, for Christmas.  It was lime green - Sarah's new favorite color.  It was fabulous.  I fell in love and decided it would be such fun to try.  I needed a TV watching project.  This was a timely project.  I have a winter cold and I've been a couch potato for the last couple of days.

The pattern had come from a free Hobby Lobby pattern card.  I was able to find the pattern - Taffy Pull Scarf - online.  The original pattern is for a striped scarf.  The one my mom made was a solid color and I liked that MUCH better.

Over the summer I had come across a bunch of wonderful cotton yarns at - where else - a yard sale.  Needless to say, I had a stash to pull from.  I chose the pink.  It's not as thick as the pattern calls for.  Since I'm not a perfectionist, I didn't let that worry me.  I had a number of crochet hooks.   The pattern calls for size I-9.  Didn't have that so I used a J-10.  Close enough. But I should have compensated by decreasing the chain stitches at the beginning to maybe 200 or 225. I ended up with a lacier scarf than my niece's.  Both are pretty.  I am thinking that I'd like to make an ivory or gray one with a thicker yarn.  It would be good to have a warmer scarf, too.  The bottom line - it will come out pretty even if you don't use exactly what's called for.

When I printed the original pattern, the print was too small to easily read, plus there was lots of extra info about changing colors, which I didn't plan to do.  I redid the pattern for one color.  If you want the  original pattern, go here.  If you want solid, copy and paste this:

Taffy Pull Scarf

Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller "Bamboo Ewe™"
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS - Scarf is 6" x 85". (I didn't measure mine, but this is pretty close).

MATERIALS
177 yd - 3.5 oz (100 g) balls
I used 3 1/2 skeins of 115 yd -  50g - 1 3/4 oz - 100% cotton - Patons Weekender yarn in coral (looks like a dusty pink)
Crochet Hook: 5.5mm [US I-9].
Yarn needle.


Ch 256
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across – 255 sc.
Note: I used a hook one size larger and my scarf is too long! 
Rows 2 - 5 : sc in each sc across.
Row 6: ch 4 (counts as tr), turn, *skip 1 st, tr in next st, tr in skipped st; repeat from * across to last st, tr in last st. (Sounds hard, but is very easy!)
Row 7: ch 1, turn, sc in each st across, sc in top of ch-4.
Rows 8-9: repeat Rows 6-7.
Rows 10-11: repeat Rows 6-7.
Row 12: ch 1, turn, sc in each st across, sc in top of ch-4.
Rows 13-16: ch 1, turn, sc in each sc across.
Fasten off.

The triple stitches used in rows 6, 8 and 10 create the lacy bits down the center of the scarf.

FINISHING
Cut 12" lengths of different colors of yarn to add to long tails. Matching colors with row tails, fold lengths in half. Each Fringe should have 6 strands. Pull folded end of lengths through each row end. Pull ends of lengths and long tails through folded end.
Weave in ends.

GAUGE: 12 sts = 4" in single crochet. CHECK YOUR GAUGE. (I obviously didn't bother) Use any size hook to obtain the gauge.
Note: Scarf is worked lengthwise. Leave 6" tail when beginning and ending to add to Fringe.

ABBREVIATIONS:
ch = chain
mm = millimeters
sc = single crochet
st(s) = stitch (es)
tr = triple or treble crochet
* = repeat whatever follows the * as indicated

Two Booth Expansions

Well, I've been pretty busy lately.  First, The White Booth which I share with 4 other fab ladies, has expanded.  The White Booth had been in two 10x15 booths.  We now occupy three of them and our latest one is a corner booth.  We were getting a bit crowded and really needed the space.  We painted the floor and wall and moved in all in one 10am - 5pm day.  Here's one picture and you can see more on my White Booth blog.

What's funny is that this weekend we sold lots of big pieces and a number of things in this photo are gone.  But other things have been brought in. 

Just before we expanded The White Booth, I moved my main booth from a 10x10 to a 10x15 corner booth.  Mmmmm.  The corner booths are nice!  I really tried to convince myself that I was just fine in the cozy little 10x10.  It was just too cramped.  I asked to be put on the waiting list for a corner booth and amazingly, the one I wanted came open.  That's crazy because people are fighting to get a booth at our store.  It was meant to be.

As you can see, my main booth is the opposite of The White Booth.  This booth is big on color and getting bolder all the time. The White Booth answers one side of my personality - the desire to be clean and neat and pure and sweet.  But this booth is the real me. Bohemian and wild and changing all the time. This photo was taken right after I got everything moved.  The next day I tweaked and made some nice improvements.  This angle is not my favorite.  Ninety-nine percent of our customers approach the booth from the opposite direction.  I set up the booth with that in mind. 

I love the charm of this round table and tablecloth in the corner.  It looks really nice with the lamp turned on, but photos turn out lousy with the light.  You'll have to use your imagination.  Excuse the lopsided tablecloth... it's on straight now.

This enamel top table is was a favorite thing.  It sold really fast.  The legs and base had been wood colored.  I knew that a little paint would give it a new lease on life.  It did.  In fact, I nearly kept it, but how many retro tables can one person have... without being considered a hoarder?

The stool in the photo above is another recent redo.  I painted it with chalk paint.  It sold quickly, too.

Once the green table sold, I brought in this little beauty.  I had pictured it going in the booth in January or February, but sales are going faster than anticipated.

I wasn't crazy about the floor color, but there was no time to paint it the day I moved.  Once everything was in, the floor color felt just fine.  The wall was painted.  It had been a mustard yellow.  I seriously considered painting the wall silver.  I came very, very close.  If I had had to go to the paint store, that's probably what I would have gotten.  My sister-in-law had leftover wall paint so that's what I used.  Thanks, Nancy!!!

By the way, those things on top of the wall are not mine.  They are my neighbor's - Kathy.  She's also one of The White Booth girls.  Someone asked if those things bothered me or if I wanted to use the ledge.  The answers are no and no.  I don't like putting things up high where they are hard to reach.  Hard to reach = hard to sell.  Kathy can have that ledge!  By the way, one of these days I need to show photos of her booth. It's wonderful. Her booth is also a corner booth.  It's set up more open than mine towards the center aisle, but customers are approaching her booth from a different angle.  The customers in our store tend to start on the right side of the store and work around.  I think it's very important to know where your customers will be when they first notice your booth. 

One other improvement was the way my pictures are corralled.  There's never enough room to hang them all on the wall.  Many would end up propped on the floor.  I brought in an old trunk that had been in my attic and now the pictures and frames stay grouped.  They are easy to look through without sliding or toppling.  Some have already sold.  Now I've added some vintage windows.  I'll share photos of those soon.  I have some really nice chippy ones!

That's all for now.

Doorknob Towel Rack

My dear, sweet, wonderful husband made a towel rack for me.  I have been looking for a towel rack with character ever since we moved in (3 years ago).  Little did I know we had everything we needed right in the barn.

He attached 3 very old glass doorknobs, which came from my grandmother, to a piece of very old, weathered, wood that came from his Uncle Clyne's barn.  I love the distressed condition of the wood - great character!

He drilled recessed hole in back so the knobs would hold firmly, yet sit flat against the wall. 

I had a painting that I've been trying to find the right spot for.  It's in a barnwood frame my sister-in-law gave me.  It's goes perfectly with the towel rack.

Unfortunately, my lousy photo doesn't do either justice, but trust me - they look wonderful! 

Decoupaging a Divider Screen

Every now and then, I do a project that turns out so good, I can hardly believe I did it.  One of my most recent projects was to decoupage a divider screen.  The divider turned out great and is now being used in my booth.

I bought the screen at a yard sale.  It was in various stages of a redo involving paint and wallpaper.

I decoupaged one side with old yellowed dictionary pages.  I used matte Mod Podge on this side. This side is facing my neighbor's booth.

The other side - the most fun side - was decoupaged magazine ads.  I used old magazines from the 40's and 50's.  

I found so many quirky ads.  Even tough I personally chose and cut out and attached each ad, I still find myself browsing the screen to revisit them.

There were tons of ads for retro colored appliances - loved those!

Unfortunately, right now not much of the screen is showing in my booth.  I have my booth pretty full. Oh well.  It'll show better later.  Meanwhile, it still makes me happy.

Mantel Redo

The mantel I refinished this month just sold.  It didn't last long in The White Booth. 

 

I came very close to keeping this one.  It doesn't matter that we don't actually have a fireplace.  After all, I've seen loads of inspiration for Faux Fireplaces. 

In the end, we decided against using it.  Once that decision was made, a redo was called for.  It looked lovely with the oak finish and I had some serious qualms about putting paint on a piece that looked this good natural. But the truth is, unpainted mantels don't sell as well as painted ones.  And if I wanted to put it in The White Booth (TWB), then it needed to be a very light color.  We use creams and greys in TWB, too, but, even though I'm on a gray kick right now, I decided to paint it white.

Here are some photos of the transformation.  This isn't a redo where the before look is ghastly.  As you can see in the before photos, it looked wonderful before.  The only thing I didn't like at all was the faux brick.  That came off very easily.  Some people will likely think the before look is the best.  It all depends on your style. 

The people I bought the mantel from had gone to a great deal of trouble to removed years of paint and bring it back to its glory.  Even now, knowing it came out pretty, I feel pangs of guilt.  Too late now.  And a sale was made to a customer I adore - Bonnie H.  So that's enough remorse.

After one coat of primer, it looked pretty sad.  This is always the low point in a redo where you wonder what the heck you've done.

Another coat of paint makes it look much better, but it was pretty bland. 

All those details were just begging to be highlighted.  What to do?  Glaze?  No.  I wanted it to be white.  Distress.  Yes. 

I liked this look.  No need to do anything more.

After it cured for a bit, it was time for the debut in TWB. It was put in place right around our booth transformation date.  The fall naturals had been pulled and the booth was very plain and clean looking.  It looks really nice like that, too.

A few days later, TWB was transformed with glitz and bling.  The booth looked great and the mantel was fabulous!  Everything on the mantel sold within 2 days.  It had to be re-glitzed. 

Farewell, pretty mantel.  I know you'll be happy in your new home.

Pillsbury Doughboy Bowl

Holy Cow!  I was ready to toss this Pillsbury bowl in the Goodwill pile.  I got it in an auction lot with a few other things I wanted.  I decided to look it up before I said goodbye and found that there are some serious Doughboy collectors out there.  I had no idea.

Ignore the dish on the right.  I already had this photo and am too lazy to take another.

This Ebay listing is for a bowl identical to mine. The condition even sounds like mine - PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY BOWL-HOME COOKIN-POPPIN FRESH-OVEN&MIRCOWAVE SAFE! ANCHOR OVENWARE-BOWL IS NOT PERFECT,NO CRACKS BUT SOME WEAR MARKS,VER USEABLE ITEM! NOTE:THESE ARE VERY HARD TO FIND AT BEST!  It sold for $19.99 plus shipping a little over 2 months ago.

I figured that was a fluke, so I looked some more. I found another that lists for $25 on this site dedicated to Doughboy Collectibles.

Trivia -

• The Doughboy (his name is Poppin' Fresh) was first introduced in a commercial in 1965.
• A young Maureen McCormick (Marsha Brady) co-starred with Poppin’ Fresh in his first commercial.
• According To Forbes, Poppin Fresh is the 12th most loved spokescharacter (didn't even know that was a word)

Want to know more about Poppin'?
His official bio can be found here.

More links:
Pillsbury Doughboy Collectibles
Offical Doughboy Site
The Doughboy's Official Facebook Page


If you are a Doughboy fan, please stop here. The next section is in very poor taste and you will find it humorless and tacky and disturbing and it's a bald faced lie!  I mean it.  Stop reading right now.

Still reading?  Don't say I didn't warn you. 
I found this obituary while searching.  I didn't even know he had passed.

Please join me in remembering a great icon. Veteran Pillsbury spokesperson, The Pillsbury Doughboy, died yesterday of a severe yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a slightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, Captain Crunch and many others.
   
The graveside was piled high with flours as long-time friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded."

Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, even as a crusty old man, he was still considered a roll model for millions.

Toward the end, it was thought he'd rise once again, but he was no tart.

Doughboy is survived by his second wife, Play Dough. They have two children and one in the oven. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.


Oh my word.  No wonder I can't get things done around here.  I get lost for ages doing stupid stuff like this.

Pyrex - More Excellent Finds

If you want to start a collection of vintage Pyrex, I can now say from personal experience that it's really easy.  I have had incredible luck in the last couple of months.  In the last couple of weeks, I have added to my collection and now am ready to begin letting go of some.  I'm getting picky, which surely means I've graduated to Level 2!!!

The pattern for my first set is often called Crazy Daisy, but the correct name is probably Spring Blossom Green.  There is a great explanation of the name controversy here.  I have learned so much from this web site (The Pyrex Files)!  This pattern is from the late 1960's and early 70's.  On a personal note, in my younger days, I really wasn't a fan of green when it came to clothes or decorating.  Now, I love it!  The colors of this set are really nice!

 I found 3 of these.  Apparently, I have the complete Cinderella Round Bake Set, lids and all! The numbers on mine are 471-,472-, and 473-B. 

Turquoise has always been a color I loved.  I found this next set at an auction and had very little competition bidding on it!  It was a farm auction, so there weren't many vintage-loving decorators to drive up the price. But I was swooning and refused to leave til it came up for bid. 

This pattern is called Butterprint.  It was introduced in 1957.  The turquoise was the most popular and they made a lot of it so it's easy to find.  See more info on Butterprint here.

I have almost the whole refrigerator set.  I'm missing two lids. 


I decided to use the top shelf of one of my cabinets to display these sets.  One day, I may actually use them, but for now I just want to look at them.  I am trying to change so that I only keep what I use, but I guess I'm not really there yet.  Does a prominent display count as being used? 

I forgot to take a photo of another small refrigerator dish and lid that I found at a yard sale.  It's in the Snowflake Blue pattern and was produced in the late 1960's and early 70's.  It looks just like the one shown below, which I found for sale online.

At the farm auction, I also found the two smallest bowls from the Primary Nesting Bowls set.  Now, I just need the green and yellow. These bowls were produced form the 1940's to 1970's.  At first the smallest bowl was more of a turquoise color, but later changed to a blue.  I have the blue.

Check out this early ad I found on I Adore Style:

Cute White and Red Kitchen Cupboard

I found this cute little kitchen cupboard yesterday  I had thought about putting it in my house, but the size wasn't exactly right.  Instead I did some rearranging in my booth and slid it right in.  It looks wonderful.  I'm more interested in it for display than a quick sale, so I put a semi-high price on it.

I did a really quick rearrange and I'm not real happy with the things I chose to put in the cabinet.  I can definitely do better than that.  I have plenty of new things to take in, so hopefully, I'll fluff this look next week.

Hmmmm.  Now I'm wondering.  Did I price it high enough?  Shoot.  If that thing sells fast, I won't be happy.

Chewed Up and Spit Out

If you hate the look of brand new shoes and want a way to give them that vintage worn look FAST, I have the answer for you.  Get a lab puppy.

We have two lab puppies.  They are a tad over 7 months old now and NOTHING in or out of our house looks new anymore.  Their latest accomplishment involved a pair of shoes I ordered online from Zappos.

I was at Rockin B fluffing my booth.  My husband called and asked had I ordered something.  Yes.  A pair of shoes.  Well, there are only bits of cardboard in the yard.  A little while later he called back to say he found the shoes. One of our little precious darlings was throwing it up in the air and playing catch.  They were a bit chewed up.  Unwearable.  Not even good enough to be paint shoes.

I'm glad I wasn't home.  It would have been like an episode of Snapped, only the pet version.  By the time I got home, I had calmed down to extremely irritated.  It's a good thing I am madly in love with them. 

These two, very cute, very lovable dogs, have chewed up soooooooooo many things around our house - furniture, rugs, cables...  I love them dearly, but I will NEVER, as God is my witness, have puppies again!!!!  I will rescue an older dog who is out of the chewing stage, but, read my lips, "NO NEW PUPPIES!"

My next online order may be a couple of muzzles.

More Improvements to My Booth

Today I bought an old rustic wood table that is the perfect size for my new (old) blue metal shelf.  I took down the bakers rack and packed it away. 

A fold up bakers rack is such a good thing to have for a booth.  When something big sells, it can be set up to fill in a space and hold lots of smalls.

I had been using the bakers rack to hold vintage table linens.  Now, I have a display that is more "me".  Rustic, chippy, farmhouse, vintage...

I love bakers racks, but I have to say, I find this crazy display more appealing for my booth.  There are still improvements to be made with the display of the linens, but I'm definitely a step closer.

Once I moved the blue metal cart to the back, I needed to redo the front section.  I finished and sent up front to get my camera.  By the time I came back two big things had sold from it and I had to rearrange.  this is the second arrangement.  The platters look so-so, but I wanted to give them a little time up front.

By the way, those vintage orange glasses on the metal tray are so wonderful.  every time I see them, I'm tempted to bring them back home. If they don't sell this month, I probably will.  I need to take a better photo of them so you can see how wonderful they are.

On My Own in a Booth

Martie and I have shared a booth at Rockin' B Antiques for over a year.  Last week, we separated.  We joke that it's an amicable divorce.

We were in a double booth (10x20).  It was wide and spacious.  Now we are next door neighbors and we each have a 10x10 booth. 

Looking at our things side by side makes it apparent just how different our styles really are.  Martie loves traditional and formal.  She's well traveled and artsy. She's a born entertainer. Her booth turned out great - I should post photos.

I love beat up,  hunky things.  With strong vibrant retro colors.  And a farmhouse look.  Rust, chipped paint, galvanized metal and burlap are my friends. 

I won't lie.  My new booth is a bit cramped and after putting all my stuff in this space, my first inclination was to get a bigger booth.  I even talked to the owner about it and began making plans for a fabulous corner booth. 

But then, a funny thing happened.  I began to love my little spot.  I rearranged a little and made better use of the space.  And I started thinking about the increased responsibility involved with a larger booth - the increased work responsibilities, working harder to keep the booth stocked, etc. Plus, I already have a 1/6th piece of The White Booth.  Suddenly it made since to keep it simple. The last thing I need to do is take on something pulling even more on my time.  Once that decision was made, I felt incredibly relaxed and happy.

Here are a few photos of the booth. Not everything in it reflects my style.  That's going to take time.  Heck, I'm still trying to figure out my style.  It's a work in progress.  In fact, I'm going over this afternoon to do some tweaking.  I bought a smaller, taller table for one of the corners and that will give me more room for the medium size (easy for me to handle) furniture pieces that I plan to focus on. 

Things have already changed several times since first moving in.  I had a fabulous, chippy yellow farm table on the left.  The color and style really popped.  It sold.  I had just finished painting this green one, so it went right in the same spot.  It's pretty, but I miss the stronger color.  I also had a colorful rug on the floor.  It sold.  I need to find another.  Lots of my colorful smalls have sold, too. 

In the photo above, you can also see that I have a spot up high on the right where I can hang a chandelier.  So, guess what I'm on the lookout for!?!?!

I have three shelves that are not for sale - two on the right and one on the left (you can see just a little of that one in the photo below).  I'm thinking about moving the one on the left to create more room for a transitional vignette.   Eventually, I hope to replace those shelves with pieces that have more personality.  Barnwood and wavy tin maybe?

In the corner, I covered a round card table with my pretty toile tablecloth.  That's where the new round table is going to go.  I wanted something smaller and sturdier that I could pile high with a fun display.  The tablecloth will still work.  I'll take photos and post them soon.

My back wall has a jut out in an odd location.  At first, I hated it.  I wanted a straight wall with no restrictions.  But, again, I am actually falling in love with this odd little nook.  It's 30 inches wide.  I put a square card table in there (30 inches square) and covered it with my burlap tablecloth.  It turned out fun and quirky, but I'm looking for something better. 

By the way, don't you just love the submarine man poster sticking out!  I may mark him up to some crazy price because it will break my heart when it sells.  I really like him peaking out.  He definitely grabs the attention of everyone walking by the booth.  Maybe he needs to be $99.95!  If it sold for that, I think I would be able to get over my grief.

Another Pyrex Find! - Black and White

While out pickin' (I'm still trying to get used to that word.  It sounds like I'm doing something crude.) yesterday, I found what turned out to be a fairly rare set of Pyrex. It was in a pattern I haven't seen and with a separate handle I've never seen.  Even my friend, Nicole, queen of all thing vintage kitchen, hadn't seen that handle before.  So, I was eager to find out more.

I came across a wonderful post on The Pyrex Collective, by Linda of A La Carte, telling me just what I needed to know!  She said this dish is "a promotional item from Christmas 1959.  It is a snack server with a handle.  Again no official pattern name, but it is refereed to as Compass."

Linda also included some fabulous photos, much better than my hokey photo, of her black and white Pyrex dishes.

Her other dish is "a Fall Promotional Gift item in 1958.  It doesn't have an official name but is called Barbed Wire."  Ooohhhh.  I'd love to find that one!  Don't these look great for Halloween!

Black and White Pyrex is very pretty and quite showy in a group.  I came across this wonderful photo collage by meetmeatmikes on Flickr.

It makes you want to start a collection, doesn't it!?!?!

Ebay has a fairly decent selection of black and white Pyrex, but I prefer to find mine while treasure hunting. That sounds better than pickin'.

Score! Vintage Pyrex

While out pickin' last week, I came across quite a collection of vintage Pyrex dishes.  Naturally, I showed no restraint - I bought it all.  It wasn't exactly a fabulous deal in terms of cost.  Just medium.  But the pieces are colorful and fun.  Most of them will be guests at my house for a while.  Some may move in permanently. 

Of course, one of the first things I wanted to do was to look up the pieces.  I wanted to see how old they might be, the name of the pattern and piece... whatever I could find.  This is what slows me down when it comes to getting things in my booth to sell.  I probably won't get much faster because I really enjoy learning about these treasures. 

As I researched, I often ended up on two particular blogs devoted to collecting Pyrex - Pyrex Love and The Pyrex Collective.  Wow!  What a treasure trove of information!  I could lose myself in those blogs for weeks!  One of my favorite pages on Pyrex Love is the Frequently Asked Questions page.

The Pyrex Files has a great page showing a slew of Pyrex patterns, their names and when they came out.  Very helpful!!!

I also read that Paula Deen is an avid collector and often talks about it on her blog.  I'll have to check that out.

Pyrex Love has a group pool on Flickr, too.  It has thousands of Pyrex photos!

I also found out that Pyrex was featured in the May issue of Country Living.  I think I remember it.  Do I still have that issue around here somewhere?

Photo Disclaimer - I didn't want my photos to have a distracting background so I put the dishes on a white quilted background.  I'm too cheap to buy a light box and too lazy to make one.  The results aren't great, but are a little better than taking the shot on my counter like I usually do.

I bought a yellow 503 refrigerator dish with a clear lid.  One benefit of Pyrex over Corning are the lids.  They are flat, which makes refrigerator storage very efficient.  On the other hand, without the knob, the lids require two hands to lift off.  I'm going to play around with these for a while and see which ones I truly prefer. This was probably made in the 1960's or beyond.

Speaking of refrigerator dishes, I came across this little post singing the praises of the mini refrigerator dishes and how great they are for dieters.  I might need to be on the lookout for the minis!

I came home with a large, heavy plate.  It turned out to be the 795 underplate to go with the Friendship Promotional Cinderella Round Casserole Set. The Friendship pattern came out in 1971.  This plate got me thinking.  I am not completely loving my Fiesta Ware dishes.  I like having more color, but I may have gone too far.  I need to think on my plate situation a bit more.  I had a swoon reaction to this little red and white plate and I can picture something similar looking just right in my kitchen.  Oh, how fickle I am!  It's a very good thing that I have a booth. On another page, Pyrex Love said, It is a bit more difficult to find this alternate Friendship promo casserole, and even more difficult to find it with the underplate. Woo-Hoo!  I have a hard-to-find piece!

The most exciting (and most expensive) find was a 1 1/2 qt orange 043 Friendship Casserole and Lid 943C34.   The dish on the right is a 1 qt casserole in the Town and Country pattern.  I need to find a lid for it.

A whole page was devoted to the Friendship pattern in the May Country Living issue!

These casseroles are both turquoise and white in the snowflake pattern.  The divided dish is a #10, the other is a #17.

I found another similar oval baker set in Blue Ivy.  The dishes with the decorated lids always catch my eye, but when you put them in a cabinet, you don't see the pattern.  Hmmmm.... I need to find some inspiration photos for displaying Pyrex.

And finally, I bought two pie plates in flamingo pink and Lime green.  These colors are really fun.

All in all, I'd say it was a good find.  It certainly gave me a thrill!

A New Member of the Pack - Cocoa

Oh my. It seems my hubby is now the official alpha dog to a pack of fun and crazy pooches.  We have only had Sadie and Annabelle a few months.  They are so much fun and the house is much livelier thanks to them.  And now, it seems, we have another.  We've named her Cocoa, for obvious reasons. 

We are still learning Cocoa's personality and making guesses about her story. We know that she's extremely smart.  She uses her "smarts" for both good and bad.  The bad generally involves food.  She wants Cindy Lou's prescription cat food very badly and will go to great lengths to get it.

Hubby thinks she was tossed out by someone.  She was a little thin, but not too much.  She also may have run off - she can jump a fence with no problem.  There are no Lost Dog signs or calls to the vet or posts in the newspaper.

In the photo above, she has a very serious look on her face.  That's how she looks most of the time.  She needs to be by the side of one of us.  If I'm home, it's me.  Most of the dogs prefer hubby. He's more fun.  Cocoa and Buddy for some reason, are closest to me. 

She is playful when we go for walks.  She loves to swim and is often the first in the water.  That's only because she's a tad faster than Sadie and Annabelle.  In fact, she's faster than any of our dogs.  She beats them all at any game of chase. The gazillions of squirrels who lived on our property seem to have realized that things have changed.  Most of them have packed their bags and moved to the woods across the street.

She loves to play chase and fetch sticks and balls.  The photo above is wild looking.  She was really having a good time when I snapped that one.

Mostly, she is very serious about staying close to us. Cocoa may be worried about being left.  She wants to be where she can see one of us at all times.  She hit the jackpot when she came to our house.  We'll spoil her and love on her the rest of her life... as long as she doesn't jump the fence and leave us.  So far she's only done that once.  She came back and has chosen to stay.  The only worry is that she may jump the fence trying to follow us when we leave.  We left her in the house when we both had to leave yesterday.  That was a risk, but luckily she was good as gold while we were gone. 

Cocoa, welcome to the family.