Copy Cat

I am stealing an idea from Debra at She Who Seeks to share some shit around my house.  Here's a charmer - the Toby cabinet.

Toby jugs or philpots date from the 1760s.  They depict the figure of a round, jovial fella usually holding a mug of beer.  Later they came to feature likenesses of  famous figures i.e. Henry the Eighth (above), and Winston Churchill.  I started collecting about 30 years ago.

Character jugs depict only the heads.  That fellow on the right sat on the bar of  great Grandparents saloon in Lacrosse Wisconsin or so the story goes. He is not a mug but a cigar holder.  My sister and I dragged him to the Antiques Roadshow, only to find out he wasn't worth much, unlike His Lordships Family possessions.  

The following character jugs are Royal Doulton.  They were my mothers.  She was very proud of her Alice and Wonderland set although Alice is strangely absent.

 She especially liked the Ugly Duchess below on the left.

Finally we have Merlin and Guinevere. Arthur is  on the back of her head, like Voldemort.  They are part of the star crossed lovers series.  In total my collection numbers 54 and I am done collecting  as the cabinet is full.

Hope you have enjoyed this little foray into the junk I collect.  Round about Halloween the jugs will all be pulled out and replaced with potion bottles.

Mini Apothocary Cases

Mini apothocary from EV Miniatures just in time for covid 19. Buy it here.

Covid 19 Garden

Just kidding!!! We plant a garden every year whether we are panicked about food shortages or not.  Here's what's in the works for 2020 - potatoes, beets, turnips, radishes, lettuces, carrots, onions and kale.  I started my baby kale inside and transplanted today.  Weather looks gorgeous this week so that ought to give them a good start before it snows again.

We are square foot gardening vs. rows.

Later after the frost date which is mid May,  we plan to sow corn and tomatoes.  Nothing in the squash family (boo hoo - will have to buy my pumpkins at the Colon Orchards) as last year we had some squash bugs and I don't what to encourage them.  Pesticides are not an option. Same thing goes for the beans and the white flies.  Of course we will plant herbs - basil is always a favorite as pesto is yum yum!

 Some familar friends have emerged from storage: Dante the vulture (named by Variations on Light), the cauldron, and spider sculpture.  Unfortunately, the artist who did the spider, Gary Johnson, has since passed.  His daughter carries on his tradition.

More Halloween Ads of Long ago

This will give you some idea of the merchandise available for a Halloween party in the 1920's 

 I would love a free copies of the Bogie Book!  To bad I am 94 years to late.

Rubber Doughnuts?  Cat Cries? Snapping Mottoes?  What kind of witchcraft is this?

Puzzles

His Lordship and I have passed quite a bit of time in this pandemic staring at puzzles.  As a result, we have achieved a few firsts.

Here is our first 1500 piece puzzle.  It took awhile to get through all that blue.

Here is our first mystery puzzle.    No picture is provided so we were without a clue what it would look like upon completion.  I didn't photograph it because I did not want to spoil the mystery for you.  The manufacturer provided a lame back story and the mystery itself was bleh at best.  Still it was a fun puzzle.

Finally, our first 3-D puzzle.  This one combined puzzle assembly with engineering skills.  It was interesting but more like playing with toys than doing a puzzle.

Are you guys doing any fun puzzles?  Do you have any recommendations?

Weird tales from yesteryear

Here are some bizarre snippets I found in the Colorado Springs Gazette, around 1920.

 This from 1926:

Pandemic Chocolates

This afternoon I made some fun vegan pandemic chocolates. 

Now I know my tombstones are in bad taste but let's be honest, anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows I do not own any upbeat candy molds.

I used a recipe from  Happy Healthy Vegan by Kathy Patalsky.  I have been most pleased as every recipe I have tried from this cookbook has turned out well.

I did a little modifying for the size of my mold.  I melted 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips and 1 T. of coconut oil in the microwave.  I put about 1.5 teaspoons in each Tombstone and put it in the freezer.  The filling is 2 T. almond butter, 1/2 T. agave syrup, and a dash of pure vanilla.  That was microwaved for 30 seconds, stirred and added on top of the frozen chocolate.  Then I made another chocolate layer using the same proportions and added it on top.  Put the whole mold in the freezer again and viola' pandemic chocolates for all your sheltering-in-place loved ones.

Surprises in the age of the Pandemic

Today a package arrive from Donut over at the Potionsmith.  If you do not follow her blog, you should, as she  has excellent craft ideas and a wicked sense of humor. 

The other day I mentioned that I adored her  homemade pandemic mask and wanted one. Being an amazing person, she obliged.

Here it is just as cute in person. Look at those skellys crawling from their graves.  I can't wait to show this off at the grocery (at a respectable social distance of course).

But that wasn't all.  She also sent me an adorable miniature skull with candle on top.  I am blown away by the paint job and detail.  I just love this little fella.

 This is perfect for the mantel in the witch kitchen.

In addition, I got a pandemic Easter card compete with biohazard egg.

How festive!  Thank you Donut for all the amazing gifts.  It really made my day.

Spring Cleaning

Well Governor Polis extended the stay at home order until April 26th so I guess that means I got no excuses to put off  spring cleaning.

Sigh - I always intend to clean when I  first wake up (that is my most ambitious time of the day) but inevitably I end up doing stuff like this:

Cleaning can be scary given wads of unwelcome crud lurking under furniture.  It is not for the faint of heart nor those with sensitive stomachs.

But really what else are we gonna do on Covid 19 lock down?  So even if the outside world is a virus contaminated train wreck, you'll know your underwear drawer has never looked better.  Happy cleaning everyone!

Halloween 100 years ago

These exciting little ads from the Colorado Evening Telegraph date from October 1920.  I think it's neat to see what foods were in style for Halloween 100 years ago.  Doughnuts, apples, ice cream and mints appear to be popular.  Meals or parties were common as a celebration as opposed to trick or treating.

Dern's appears to be a specialty grocery.  My pal Beth found this postcard on Ebay depicting the inside of the store.  Yum!  

They had a great eye for the ads.

Hmm - does that witch look naked to you?  Let's take a closer look. Yep I would say so except for the hat and shoes.

I love the graphic in this ad.  Could they have squeezed anymore images in here?  I wish I could check out their window.  

Interesting isn't it, that a home furnishing company would also sell apples for Halloween.  Delta is a county in far western Colorado.  What do you think the skooky is?