Collecting Cast Iron

Every day I use cast iron pans in my cooking. Couldn't do without them.

Collecting vintage cast iron has become increasingly popular in the last few years. Not only are cast iron pans and other cooking utensils handy in the kitchen, but they're also wonderfully decorative when displayed on the wall.

Musings on Vintage Milk Glass

I didn't always love milk glass, as pretty as it is.

I knew that some people collected it, but I was into blue and white, my own personal collecting passion.

Musings on Vintage Mason Jars

I love vintage Mason jars!

If you came to my house and saw how many I have you'd realize what an understatement that is. I started out years ago collecting the big aqua ones with the zinc tops.

I use them in my kitchen pantry to store dried beans and peas and flour and sugar and various cooking needs.

Selling on Etsy: A Frustrating Lesson

It was one of those days....

Last Friday I photographed a terrific vintage glass cloche and gray marble cheese server for my Etsy shop:

I filled out most of the necessary listing forms: title, description, tags, etc., but ran out of time to finish it completely, since we were heading out to a football game in Vermont and I had to pack and otherwise get ready to leave.

A Hurricane, A Broken Mug, and Etsy

Last week most of the world was watching as one of the largest hurricanes on record, Irma, headed straight for the Caribbean islands and Florida.

Since we have friends in the USVI, Puerto Rico, and throughout Florida, including my brother in Tampa, our concern, focus, and prayers for all in Irma's wake was intensely personal.

Fortunately, all our loved ones were safe, with only minimal damage, but the devastation throughout this region was massive, to say the least.

Just after the worst of it had passed, I heard a "cha-CHING" from my iPhone, signaling a sale in my Etsy shop. I looked to see what had been sold:

Fantastic Finds at the Yankee Barn Sale, Dublin, NH

Recently we attended, for the umpteenth time, the amazing annual Yankee Barn Sale, New Hampshire's flea market extravaganza in Dublin.

Now in its 36th year, the sale features new, used, antique and vintage items from over 80 local residents and employees of Yankee Publishing, Inc. (publishers of  the renowned Yankee Magazine, founded in 1935). It's definitely the primary Do-Not-Miss treasure hunt on our calendar.

Fabulous Finds & A New Friend at the St. James Fair, Woodstock VT

My daughter, who lives in Woodstock, Vermont, said I absolutely had to come. The St. James Fair there, now in its 92nd year, was something not to miss.

We live about an hour and a half away in New Hampshire, so it's not a long drive. And since it was a great excuse to spend the weekend with the family, we drove over Friday night for dinner.

But on Saturday morning, at 9 a.m., my daughter and I were there, scouting out what we wanted to make a mad dash for once the ribbons encircling the tents were cut precisely at 10 a.m.