Charity shop finds

The hubs and I recently found a righteous-looking waffle iron at a charity shop and bought it. The darn thing didn't even look like it had been used. It's a bit bigger than I remember waffle irons being from my childhood. And it's also square in shape instead of round. The irons pop out for easy cleaning as well.   

I have an old Mirro cookbook from the 30s that has a ton of white flour recipes. As I've had success with Mirro pancakes, I decided to try its 'regulation waffle' recipe. 

I think the recipe calls for a bit too much raising agent. The waffles were TALL. But all the butter seemed to have done the trick; the waffles did not stick to the irons one iota. When making the waffles a second time, we halved the recipe and only put in a half a tsp. baking powder. In addition, I added orange zest, vanilla & cacao nibs to the mix. The waffles turned out very well. 










Here's a pic of the monster waffles cooking. 














Another charity shop find is this (I assume) anti-Joseph McCarthy button. 

Let's bring back it back, but with The Donald's surname instead. Heck, I'd wear one. 

Ora

Ora

-picked up this lithograph at a charity shop somewhat recently for $45.00. The price felt laughably low, but I'm not complaining. After I took Ora home, I did a little research on the artist. Irving Amen was born in NYC in 1918. He lived a long and productive life, having only died some five years ago. Amen studied and traveled in Europe in the mid-twentieth century. He also taught at the Pratt Institute in Manhattan in the 1960s. He was a master of painting, printmaking, & sculpture.

I've checked out Amen's woodcut art online and it's superlative. I doubt I'll ever run across any of it at the local charity shops. Who spots a unicorn twice? I'll just count my blessings with the lovely Ora.

Sunday outing.

The hubs and I took a wander around town today with only one goal in mind. We were to find both a bike shop and a coffee shop that offered a good selection of product. After coming up short in North Beach--the only bike shops we could find were bike rental joints catering to tourists--we hiked up and over the hill en route to Polk St. Along the way, we bumped into Lombard St. (the windy bit), took a couple of fun snaps & kept moving. 

You can't mistake Lombard St. due to its unusual curves, but, really, you can't mistake it due to its unfortunate never-ending stream of motorists driving slowly down its hairpin turns. I would think the homeowners there would wish to band together to make this street off-limits to through traffic. Why this hasn't happened yet is beyond me. Don't the millionaires who live on this part of Lombard hate the throngs of cars constantly filtering past as they attempt to come and go in their fancy European SUVs? -never mind the ceaseless foot traffic. They paid how many millions of dollars to live on a permanently congested street? I just can't imagine...

Overall, it was a lovely day to be out and about. We found both tasty coffee at a hip joint and a bike shop with good chain lube. The temperature heated up to a toasty 75F around mid-day. For the hubs, who was wearing jeans, it became a bit unbearable toward the end of our jaunt. Upon our return home, he promptly took a nap on the sofa.

View from Lombard St., Transamerica building off in the distance.

View of Alcatraz, en route to Polk St.

Second-hand, tres expensive.

Stumbled onto Claremont St. which begins at the curvy bit of Lombard St. and ends as you see above. 

Same second-hand shop on Polk St. selling bottle/can openers for 8 bucks. Um, no thanks.

Brunch queue. Basik must be the shizz.

Trip to DE & CH

The hubs and I took a brief trip to Europe the week of the US elections. However, given that the news outlets in Germany are on top of broadcasting about world events, we could not avoid hearing & reading about the Trump win. Donald's mug adorned nearly every magazine & newspaper cover in Germany & German Switzerland. It was off-putting to see him 'round every corner, to say the least.

'How dangerous is the new president?'

Highlights of the trip were jaunts to Basel, Konstanz & Zürich. Here are a few select photos--

Altstadt, Konstanz

Am Bodensee with friends.

Konstanz, as the Bodensee meets the Rhein

Along the Limmat, Zürich, Switzerland

Limmat, Zürich

Stroll along the Rhein, Basel

Gulls along the Rhein, Basel

En route to the Botanic Garden, Basel

Altstadt, Basel

Picked up this lively print while in Basel

Checking out walking sticks at a charity shop in Basel

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Yours truly on the Red Arrow Churchill from Zürich to Schaffhausen

I miss our life in Europe & would hope to return to live there, but, at present, a move does not seem feasible. Would that it were...!

My personal Antiques Roadshow moment.

You can never predict what will sell at the shop. I put out a fake fern yesterday, and it promptly sold. Granted it was only four bucks, but still... I can't abide by plastic plants. If I can't grow anything green, then I won't have anything at all.

A French print of indeterminate origin caught the eye of another shopper. I brought it down off the wall to show her, and, after a quick once-over, it sold. -sort of silly, but it gives me pleasure to see people chuffed about their particular finds. She was happy with her cityscape scene, and I was happy for her.

Not unusually, 'sofa art' goes quite fast, but 'quirky' 20th century prints have been known to languish on the walls for weeks on end. One such print was the one below by Mika Katayama, a Japanese artist born in 1935.

M. Katayama, replete with a little photo glare.

For about a month, I kept eyeing the print, wondering when someone would wise up, and purchase it. It was priced at around fifty dollars which I thought very reasonable, so I wound up buying it myself. The hubs looked up the artist online, and found out that another print in the series is owned (and tucked away in storage) by the de Young Museum. Well, some curator at the museum certainly had good taste, but I'm displaying mine, thanks.

A little bit of kitsch...

I volunteer at a charity shop. The inventory veers somewhere between 'boutique' and 'pedestrian'. Sometimes items from 'yesteryear' come into the shop that everyone seems to go ga-ga for, so they're usually not long for the sales floor. What seems to be in vogue are colorful pyrex bowls, chrome kitchen appliances--toasters, blenders, waffle irons--certain mid-century furniture pieces, and anything labeled Waterford crystal.

We volunteers must adhere to the '3 hour rule'. That means that once an item has been priced and put out on the floor we must wait the requisite three hours before being able to purchase. If we were to buy any and all straight away, then what would be left for those who come in off the street hoping to find something wonderful? They'd be left with the dregs and we'd surely be on our way to going out of business.

A few weeks ago, I happened to unpack a donation that included a kitschy lamp from, I believe, the '50s. The lamp features a stylized-looking Asian woman carrying a fan & wearing flowers in her hair. Her finger nails are even painted a dark red. There are a few cosmetic issues with the body, and the harp is a bit bent, but the shade, a lovely avocado green, is in fairly good nick. I thought for sure that she'd be out the door in no time.

Boy, was I wrong! She languished in the window, being overlooked by all, until I decided today to rescue her from isolation.

She brightens up the joint nicely. Don't you think?

Settling in with old and new...

New addition: kitchen table

We haven't had a kitchen table since I gave up my 50s dinette set in 2009 in anticipation of our big move to the Big Apple.  We figured we'd barely find a place with a kitchen that two people could stand in at the same time, let alone find one that had sit-down space.

The hubs and I were browsing West Elm, recently, when we spotted their homage to mid-century modern furniture in the form of bedroom sets, dining sets and a range of tile-top tables sold as patio furniture.  This funky orange and grey model caught our eye the most, so we thought, Why not get it for the kitchen?  The chairs are teak hand-me-downs from my cousin and they seem to work well with the tile-top.  I picked up the groovy-looking, wood-framed mirror resting against the wall in the background at a now defunct second-hand shop in Hayward (home still to some of the best charity shops in the Bay Area) 20 years ago for 15 bucks.  The grey mirror backing paint has peeled off a bit probably due to the move, so, before it hangs, it needs a bit of sprucing up.

While I'm not much enjoying living back in America, my immediate surroundings, at least, are appealing.

Brocki 'find' #4

Swiss-made Embru industrial furniture ca. 1960-1970.  The chair is both height and depth adjustable.  The hubs will now have a more comfortable sitting experience in front of the computer.  At 45 CHF, we paid about the going rate.  Given the craftsmanship and materials used (all metal and lovely wood), I truly would have expected a higher price tag, but, hey, I'm not complaining.

Brocki 'find' #3

Der Mosaiktisch der 50ern...

I'd like to think that this tile top table was generated as a result of the Economic Miracle that took hold of post WW II Germany.

When looking for like tables from mosiac pattern to markings on the bottom side of the table-top, I came up fairly short-handed.  It would appear that this table did indeed come from a maker in Germany ca. 1950s.  More information I could not discern.  Any thoughts, folks?

Aerial view...

Brocki 'find' #3

Let there be stained glass light!

I have always wanted to own some sort of light source bathed in stained glass, and, as of last week, I now do.  Perusing my favorite second-hand shop here in town this past week has proven to be a bonanza of sorts.  In addition to finding this well-preserved (read: no cracks, scratches or any other flaws) lamp, I scored a large, glass serving platter that happens to match other items already in our cupboards, and a vintage ottoman.

There is a serial no. and some lettering I can't quite make out on the underside of the lamp.  The cord bears the name of the German manufacturing company, Heyco.  Otherwise, there are no other distinguishing marks anywhere on this piece.  Any of you folk have an idea as to the origins of this lovely lamp?  I think the top was someone's homemade project popped onto an already existing lamp base.  -still nice though.

Brocki 'find' #2

Mid-century modern glow for under 200 CHF.

After first eyeing this floor lamp in the window at the local Brockenhaus, I waited a few days before actually going into the shop to check it out.  Fortunately for me, the lamp was still there and I decided to buy it.  Standing about five feet tall and weighing the size of a small child, the schlepping of the lamp to the tram station five blocks away was not pretty.   Nor was it a picnic to be standing at the back of the carriage with a gaggle of pre-schoolers intent on both knocking into me and stepping on my feet.  Hugging the lamp to my chest I could do nothing but feebly request that they 'passt auf'.  With sore arms the next day, I set the lamp up in the corner of the living room, turned it on and was very pleased indeed.  Having found such a gorgeous and well-maintained mid-century modern design made almost being trampled by youngsters on the tram worth it.

Brocki 'find' #1

Bitchin' bar trolley for 85 CHF.  Minimum hourly wage here in ZH: 20 CHF.

There are a few reasons to buy second-hand, great value for the price chief among them.  Beyond saving a bundle of franks (both antique and newly made wood furniture pieces are fairly expensive here in CH), I can take some satisfaction in knowing that, with luck and a discerning eye, what I find from decades past will usually be darn good quality.  The piece shown in the above photo is made of a light-weight wood covered in a clear stain.  The metal wheels are fully functional.  The 'maker's mark', if you will, reads 'Pago'.  After a bit of online research, I found out that Pago was a 20th century Swiss furniture company.  Given where I now live, it would make sense to find Swiss products at second-hand shops.  That I was able to find such a well-preserved piece at a decent price is good fortune, indeed.

Bar-trolley-turned-plant-stand