The Holiday Season Is Upon Us

Thanksgiving has come and gone! 

 Christmas and Chanukkah are fast approaching.  It is a favorite time of year for me.  I love the lights, the decorations, the traditions and history. 

I said traditions.  I think these Holidays are really the some of the last Holidays, in this country, where we uphold traditions today.  Whether it be by bringing out old treasured Christmas ornaments and putting them out for all to enjoy, using the same stockings every year, favorite recipes or in the observance of religious ceremonies.

Anyway, not trying to be too serious.  It also means that Rick and Dan decorate their business for the Holiday Season.  It is a challenge every year to make it fresh and interesting.  In all honesty Rick comes up with ideas and poor Dan does most the work.  Okay...I admit it.  Dan is really good at putting stuff together.  I can see it in my mind but can't always execute it.  

This year many of you will recall we did the Adolphson Estate Sale.  Tom and Marge owned Parlor Bears here in Lincoln City.  In that Sale we sold a small sled and two reindeer decorations.  Those decorations recently came back into our lives and we were delighted!  They now grace our front window.

They are so beautiful to me and the reindeer in particular I find stunning.

The Gladys Boalt ornaments grace the tree in the background but it is the sled and reindeer that catch my eye.  I have to state again that I am glad these objects found their way back into our lives.  I think Tom and Marge would be so happy that they were out for people to enjoy again.

One of our Dealers also brought in a huge Steiff Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  It apparently came out of a restaurant years ago.  We had to put it in the window, too!  Not such a good shot but you get the idea.

All in all we are ready at the Mall for the Holidays.  The decorating is done.

I haven't included any menorahs in this.  I am hoping our friend Beverly Cohen will let me photograph some of her incredible collection to share here.  We enjoy Chanukkah Season also.  Frankly, any menorahs we find we gift to Beverly so I don't have any of my own.  I need to rectify that...don't tell Beverly though.

Happy Holidays to all of you...no matter how you chose to celebrate them

And since I love this Season I will most probably blog more about it.  LOL!

Gladys Boalt Ornaments

Virginia Mitchell was a legend in the antiques business.  Virginia owned "herselfs" antiques shop here in Lincoln City.  She was well known and was featured in the Maine Antique Digest more then once during her career.  Dan and I called her the "Queen" because Virginia had the most beautiful shop and collection of early americana and primitives.  She truly offered only the very best.  Virginia became a close dear friend and we shared me laughs about operating a small shop.  I won't share them here but ask me someday.  

Virginia was the exclusive outlet of Gladys Boalt handmade ornaments.  These soft sculpture Christmas  ornaments are works of art and hard to find.  All of the Boalt ornaments are either historical figures, from fairy tales or Christmas stories.  They have been unavailable in our area for a number of years until now.

Virginia's daughter, Julie a close friend, has decided to let go of her collection.  You may see the ornaments in our front window of our Mall.

Here is the King of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

The Wicked Step Mother from Cinderella.

And one of my favorites the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella.

The detail on the Boalt ornaments is incredible.  The faces are painted.  The clothing hand sewn.

So for those of you looking for something different check out the Gladys Boalt ornaments in our front window.  Julie has many more to bring in so you aren't seeing them all.

Virginia passed away 14 years ago.  We miss her.  Yet she lives on through her beloved family and through us...those of us who knew her and loved her.

Wishing you all happiness as we enter the Holiday Season!

I have no excuse for not blogging in so long.  I guess I just haven't felt creative lately.  I do go through those periods as I think most people do.

Dan and I have been busy getting ready for our 14th Anniversary Sale.  It is so hard to believe it has been 14 years since we opened our Mall.  So much has transpired and yet so much remains the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am looking forward to Christmas.  I hope you are, too.

I will try to be better at our blog!

Promise!

Space Race Collectibles

We are often asked what we collect.  My response is generally "What day is it?"  We collect so many different things.  Our home has a general theme but it is eclectic to be sure.

I have always followed NASA and the Space Race since I was a little boy.  One of my earliest memories is standing out on our front porch with my Grandmother as she pointed out Sputnik 1 as it passed over our heads.  She was terrified of it and what it represented.  

She also loved NASA.  We shared many, many hours listening to the radio or watching television of live space events.  

I also have a huge interest in Science Fiction.  

They seem to go hand in hand for me.  

This is a piece of Science Fiction art from the 1950's.  I loved it so much that I had Dan transfer it into a black and white image and I had it tattooed on my arm.

This ray gun, from the 1950's or early 1960's, came up to the counter not too long ago.  It was in John and Kris's booth and I can't believe I didn't see it.  I was bummed it got away but at least I got a picture of it first. 

This toy rocket is now in our Mall.  It is a water powered rocket.  I am sure there were many dreams associated with this toy back in the day.

We have some new Dealers in our Mall.  Joseph and his wife do a great job and he has a keen sense of humor.  Their Dealer Number is 51.  Joseph promptly put together this clever SciFi display that sits on top of their center display case.  It identifies them as Area 51!   If you push the red button Mister Spock speaks to you.  It just cracks me up.

Dealer 51 brought in this spectacular hood ornament from the Ford Motor Company.  I am not sure of the year but certainly its design was influenced by that late 50's Cold War/Space Race era.  I had to have it so it now resides in my collection and currently sits proudly on our dining room table (along with some other stuff).

Toys with a space theme always catch our eye.

This early 1960's lunch pail reminded me of one that I had as child going to elementary school.  It isn't exactly like the one I had.  The quest for that lunch box is ongoing.

This plastic model of a space ship is also very 1960's.  Someone put it together with love.  I now have it my home and continue to love it.

The decal on the fin I thought was important to note.  It was a U. S. Spaceship!

Actual NASA items interest me as well.  They are much harder to find without attending special auctions but they are out there.  I found this piece of Skylab in a garage sale years ago.  Skylab was all over the headlines, in 1979, when it was predicted to reenter the earth's atmosphere.  People were worried it was going to land on top of them. Most of what survived reentry ended up in the outback of Australia.  That is where this little piece, encased in plastic resin, came from.

This button, from 1969, is in our Mall right now.  I probably should just buy it from Jenny and Randy.  It is even more timely since Neil Armstrong just passed away.  I remember exactly where I was the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.

Now we get to the real meat of my space/scifi collection.  I have loved Star Trek forever.  We found this little folk art piece at a flea market some time ago.  Someone cut it out of steel and then welded it together to make the Starship Enterprise.

This book was given to me by my parents for Christmas in 1968.  I treasure this book to this very day.  They'll probably have to bury it with me when the time comes.

I have many, many Star Trek books and publications.  It could be embarrassing, almost, if you were to see it all.  This collection of the Star Trek Universe Maps could come in handy some day!  I mean you never know when I might have to locate Vulcan or something.

Jon McClure has expanded my Star Trek Collection.  He and his wife Dyan have got me hooked on Star Trek Comics now.  They are not as easy to locate as you might think.  Jon and Dyan take good care of me though and I really appreciate it.

I love my Space Race/Science Fiction collection.  There are a million different ways just in those genres a person could collect.  It is fascinating to me and historical in nature at times.  

In our home you just never know what you'll see.

Come to think of it we never know either!

Happy Collecting Everyone!

It Is A Beautiful Place To Live

It is Labor Day Weekend and the weather couldn't be more beautiful.  I had yesterday off so what to do?  

Just north of us is Cascade Head.  It seemed a perfect day to take an easy hike to the promontory of Cascade Head.  Our friend Jon and his son Michael were going to go with me so the short hike seemed best and off we went. 

The hike itself is beautiful winding through the forest.  I didn't take any pictures of that (and I don't know why) but this is what you see

 when you emerge from the trees.

Looking south you see Lincoln City nestled

 between the Pacific Ocean and Devil's Lake.

You can sit in the meadow, in some areas, and just take in the vista.  This is a protected area so it is important to make note of the signs informing you of areas not to disturb.

You also can see the Salmon River Estuary.  The Salmon River Estuary has been going through habitat restoration for a several years.  Soon the Oregon Department of Transportation will be elevating Highway 101, that passes through the estuary, so that a more natural flow can occur throughout the area.  This will aid the recovery of all the flora and fauna in the estuary and will also help ease flooding during big winter storms. 

As I mentioned Jon and Michael made the hike with me.  Dan had to work so I was glad to have friends along.  We enjoyed water and cookies from 

Rockfish Bakery.

We had a great time.  Next time you come to Lincoln City and the weather is nice (and after visiting our Mall of course) you should drive to the top of Cascade Head and take this short hike.  It is well worth it.  More details can be found at this site.

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/oregon/placesweprotect/cascade-head.xml

Michael and I looked for dinosaurs during the hike.  Michael was certain there may be some around in the forest.  We didn't spot any.  

I also didn't spot any of these either.  But I was on the lookout.

I am grateful to live where we live.  We are surrounded by beauty and it helps restore the soul when we take a moment to take it all in.

Thank you for reading our blog.

Have a great day!

Pickles & Jalapeños

I love many things.  I really, really love pickles.  I often say I am going to make some, one of these days, but that has never happened.  My Great Grandmother, Grandmother and Mother all made pickles.  Delicious pickles.  I wish I would've paid attention to how to do it.  But I never did and now it is too late to learn from them.  My Sister Michele makes pickles and they are very good.  She is too busy to teach me though.  

My friend Jon Walsh brought me some of the pickles his Mother Judy Walsh made.  I have two jars of them and I have enjoyed looking at them for several weeks.  This picture doesn't do them justice.  They truly are beautiful though.  In fact so beautiful I was hesitant to open them.

Tonight I decided to make egg salad for dinner and it was time to finally open up Judy's pickles.

Aren't they beauties?  You should taste them and smell them.  They are dills and they are pickled to perfection.  I ate two before chopping some up for my egg salad.

I didn't mention it before but Judy also pickles jalapeños in a dill style.  Again this picture does not do justice to how beautiful they appear in the jar.

You can eat these baby's right out of the jar.  They are incredible.  Following Jon's advice I took some of them out and chopped them up to add to my 

egg salad.

I was given two jars of the jalapeños.  The jar that I just opened won't last long.
I love them!

Some boiled eggs, miracle whip (I also love mayonnaise and miracle whip) some garlic and a little pepper added to Judy's dill pickles and jalapeño's and I was in heaven!!!!

AND Jon told me that Judy might teach me how to make pickles!

That is very good news.

When ever I am in the kitchen, or almost anywhere in the house, you can always count on Rita and Sami to be on guard duty lest something drop and hit the floor.  It is an important job and they do it well.  They didn't get anything tonight but I thought you might like to see them while they were on kitchen detail.

So now you know one of my passions...actually several of my passions.

Meanwhile Dan and I will be working the McCamman Estate Sale the next few days.  Jon will be there to help us.  His Dad, Mike, I think will be assisting as well.  Details of that event are available on our facebook page.

Thank you for stopping by!

I hope you will take some time and enjoy a good pickle!

What have Rick & Dan been up to?

This is where ALL of our spare time has gone lately.  Here is an advance copy of the ad that will appear in the Oregon Coast Today this coming week.  Dave Price, publisher of Oregon Coast Today, designed this ad for us.  I think it is beautiful.  Dave always does such great work.  I hope next time you come to visit us, at the Little Antique Mall, you will be sure to pick up a free copy of

 Oregon Coast Today.  You might also "like" them on facebook.  Oregon Coast Today always posts the best pictures.

I will also mention that we have another great estate sale coming up over on Devils Lake.  It will be held within two weeks of the Adolphson Estate Sale.

So if you wonder what Rick & Dan have been up to...we are pricing, pricing, pricing.

We hope to see you at the Adolphson Estate Sale this coming Thursday morning!!!

A Wonderful Treat

Yesterday, while working in our Mall, we had a wonderful treat in the form of a magical visitor.

We noticed a vehicle full of people parking a large trailer carrying an unusual old wagon.  When the merry band of visitors were shopping in the Mall a conversation began which often happens in our business.  It turns out the wagon that was being towed was a gypsy wagon and our visitors were a family of entertainers on their way to faerieworlds in Eugene, Oregon.

Bill went out of the Mall and returned with one of his wonderful puppets.  This photo does not do them justice at all and I apologize for that.  Bill and his puppet, which he made himself, entertained us.  What a magical and special moment it was.  I shall always remember it.

Bill and Sam have created a wonderful world and many wonderful characters.  They reside on Widbey Island and you can visit their world at nymbolssecretgarden.com

You just never know who you might meet or what might happen while you are at the Little Antique Mall.

Magazines and Sock Monkeys

We recently blogged about magazines that featured country primitives and antiques.  We mentioned several publications that we missed because they had ceased publishing.   We also was pretty vocal about Country Living that still is in publication and was once considered almost the Holy Grail of country style magazines.

In our blog we stated that we had become weary of the bland, whiteness of Country Living.  We noted that it had been going on for years so we and others have cancelled our subscriptions.  Today we received our last copy in the mail.  It is Country Living's July/August edition.  We present their latest cover to you and we rest our case.

I also have written about sock monkeys and even did an update the other day.  Well here comes another sock monkey report.

Our dear friend Trudy (thank you for reading our blog Trudy) saw the blog on sock monkeys.  She was in very recently and found this sock monkey which had gone undetected in our Mall.  Trudy quickly purchased the sock monkey and gave it to me for my birthday.  I love it and I love Trudy!  Thank you Trudy.  Here is the new edition to our sock monkey family.

Before leaving work today I noticed that my new sock monkey had teamed up with the sock monkey that resides in our Mall.  You know the one...the one that makes me nervous!  I don't know quite what to make of this new team.

All I can say is that when you come to visit us at the Little Antique Mall know that you are being watched by a couple of sock monkeys.  Always in the background, always present and always watching are those sock monkeys.  

Think about it.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GOOD MAGAZINES?

We have been in business on the Central Oregon Coast for almost 21 years now.   From the very beginning my two favorite publications were Country Living and Country Home magazines.  I looked forward to them every month.  They inspired me and educated me on a hobby that we loved so much that we turned it into a business.

In this issue we were so proud to be listed as a resource for one of the homes featured.

Each issue was filled with early american and country primitives and lots of color.  Country Home was never afraid of color.  In this issue Lincoln City was noted as being one of the Top 10 places in the United States to shop for antiques. "Not Just Another" Little Antique Mall, Inc. was a big reason for that honored designation.

A few years ago we began to notice a change in Country Living.  There was less color and more emphasis on white or pastels.

There is nothing wrong with showing whites and less color but it became a common theme for Country Living and that has been ongoing for years now.  In fact it has gone on so long that, to me, each issue looked just like the last.  I cancelled our subscription.  We are not the only ones to do so.  I have talked to several collectors and dealers who have done the same thing.  

One of our Antique Dealers, Pam, wrote a note along with her cancellation.  Pam mentioned she had subscribed for 30 years but just couldn't support the magazine any longer.  Last time we spoke she still hadn't received an answer to her letter.

Meanwhile Country Home began showing white walls but they still embraced color.  Early American painted furniture has always been a favorite of ours.  In fact, we have collected it for years.

In particular I always looked forward to the Holiday Issues.  I got great Holiday ideas and it just became a part of our Holiday Tradition.  I love this apple wreath.

Then the unthinkable occurred. County Home stopped publishing!   The recession has been hard on the magazine industry.  Country Home was a casualty.  It was a sad day when I learned that.  I have kept my old Country Homes and treasure each and every one of them.

I found Cottage Living.  It showed exteriors and interiors of cottages.  It really featured how to collect and show off your collections in a much smaller space or a cottage space if you will. I enjoyed that very much but then they suffered the same fate as Country Home.  They no longer publish.

Country Style by Better Homes and Gardens was also interesting and showed color.  They too disappeared.

Better Homes and Gardens would issue a "Decorating With Antiques" magazine from time to time.  It also no longer appears.  A relic from the past.

So now I subscribe to Country Sampler.  They offer layouts that reflect good country antiques and they show color.  They also feature a lot of new reproduction collectibles which really aren't my cup of tea.

I have also began reading Romantic Country.  They also embrace color and it gives me some great ideas from time to time.

But nothing has really taken the place of Country Home or the older version of Country Living.  I realize there is so much out there on the internet now that magazines have a difficult time competing.  But I guess I am old fashioned.  I still like a magazine.  I like holding it, turning the pages and reading.

I have an iPad, which I dearly love, and I have taken several magazine subscriptions that are delivered on my iPad.  It isn't the same and I don't like reading my magazine on a screen.  I want it in my hand so I can study it closely and share with others easily the things that I find interesting.

Those are my thoughts today on magazines!

Happy Collecting Everyone!