So, it hasn't been a picnic I tell you, since I've been smoking since I was (literally) a kid. Back in those days no one had any idea this crappy habit could kill you. Nupe. Oh, I remember whispers starting in the early 60's about the lethal results but as a teenager the flip attitude was, hey, by the time I get cancer from it they'll have found a cure. Hahahaha. Very funny - NOT. But that's how it was. So, I'm giving it my best college try. The first two weeks being near devastation with physical & emotional trauma. I know this sounds way dramatic, but when it's embedded in your every cel since "kidhood", it's a habit that's extremely physical as well as emotional. I can't explain it further but those who don't smoke can't know, and those who do or have, DO know. That's all I can say for now. I haven't reached total success yet but I am trying harder than ever before & feel quite proud of my progress, but won't call myself a winner until I am totally smoke-free. Wish me luck & send me your best STOP SMOKING karma.
And, the "I give up" part? I GIVE UP ON ALL SPRAY PAINTING restoration projects! After many years of trying to master the successful use of spray paint I throw up my hands and give up! I have no idea how to achieve a fine, smooth finish with spray. Here's the straw that broke the camel's back......I recently had the great luck to find an Ingrid Party Ball which I was very happy about - however, some WEINER HEAD had marked on it with a permanent marking pen. What else could one be but a WEINER HEAD to mark on plastic with a permanent marker?! I guess one might call me a weiner head for not testing to make sure before I bought it, but honestly folks, I give people more credit than I should. If you own a thrift store you SHOULD know NOT to use permanent marker on ANYTHING. So okay, I decide to get some Valspar Paint For Plastic (I always buy Valspar now cause that's what Hepcat uses & HIS stuff comes out perfect every time). So, except for the permanent marker on the back, here WAS my lovely party ball
And my lovely results....
Are you feeling real sorry for me yet? Thank you. But on to other, more pleasant things - which in spite of all the above, has occurred since we last met here. First off
Yep, the beautiful north shore of Lake Tahoe - got to run away with Big Daddy & my darling little sis-in-law who was visiting from Maui. We spent days PICKING Tahoe AND Reno, NV. We picked em clean & I came home with a great booty of treasure. Nearly had to send Big Daddy home on the bus so we could get the treasures back home. But we squeezed him in the trunk - naw, just kidding. All made it home safely & comfortably. Here's a pic of one of my favorite "sites" at North Shore, which I'm sure will unfortunately be gone in the coming years
The once great Tahoe Biltmore hotel & casino. Once partly owned by the Chairman of the Board, the great Old Blue Eyes himself - Frank Sinatra. It's still open and this iconic structure still stands but it is totally built of timber & is already being anchored for safety. Oh the glamor stories this place could tell in the glory days. But it's days are numbered I'm sure & it will be a sad day in my life when it is shuttered and taken down. Anyway, thought you'd like to see it if you haven't before.
Another fun place we visited was in lovely Truckee, California (did some pretty good pickin there too)
And believe me when I say, the food is gennnuine scrumptious, 1950's artery clogging GREAT!
So that's were I've been, what I've been up to & how I have suffered since we last met. Oh wait, there's that treasure of GREAT booty! Way too much to inflict upon you all right now, but here's a few of my fav finds (aside from the dearly departed Party Ball)
great gorgeous old copper light fixture!
the flea market
friend Frank
AND.........
Tons & bunches MORE! (I KNOW if Heidi Ann stops by she is going to covet those MOD bed sheets I found! ;- )
But that's all I will bore you with today. Just wanted to let the world know I did not EXPIRE, I am still amongst the living & will try to stay in touch a bit better than I have done. I have been keeping up with all your wonderful blogs but due to evil WITHDRAWALS, a busy schedule (bringing my gorgeous back home from college in San Fran), taking care of my beautiful granddaughter, the lovely Tessa Bella, playing housekeeper to this honkin old ranch style house I call home, the store in Folsom, and Etsy, and well.........maybe I DID expire! Haha!
Love you all & hope you won't forget me, even if I DO expire :- )
~Vic~
Ummm, to add to, or correct above, the "bringing my gorgeous" please insert "GRANDSON Forrest" home from San Fran. Forgive me please - I'm old & feeble.
ReplyDelete~Vic~
oohhh its sooo lovely to see you back and hear your all well ;-)) Wow that diner looks amazing we have nothing like that over here. Lake tahoe looks like a beautiful place and Frank Sinatra i have so many of his vinyl ablums i love him ;-) Great finds and buy's i adore that red cat clock its birlliant. Well done with the giving up smoking journey you can do it. Hugs, dee x
ReplyDeleteHello Mz. Dee! Thank you for stopping by - I KNOW your schedule is crazy right now so I really appreciate it. Yep, Lake Tahoe, I think, may be one of the most beautiful places on earth. If I can't be at the gorgeous north coast of California, I will take Tahoe anytime! And, I think the old diners are a very American thing from the 1950's and I think you should come to the U.S. for your honeymoon so I can take you to both ;- )
DeleteI once saw Frank Sinatra in Tahoe, both in concert and in a bar at one of the casino's. The man Oooozed charisma & was a total dreamboat. His son once asked my sister Paula to go to a party with him! She went :- )
Hi - you're right - I'm lovin' those sheets! And a few other things, too - great stuff, Vickie!
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi Ann! I so thought of you when I glommed those sheets! And I swear, they were brand new. Only had them on Etsy for one day & they were gone! Thank you for stopping by - it's always great to see the Gold Country Girls. Makes me know there really still is "gold in them thar hills!"
DeleteHoping to get together soon!
omg! that first picture is hilarious! HILARIOUS! I hope you have it on your fridge or someplace to make you laugh while you are taking on this "not smoking" challenge. I have great admiration for those who quit, I've seen so many people struggle to. AND hear, hear, for a vacation at Lake Tahoe. I worked a summer camp there in 1994 and haven't been back and need to. It is a wonderful spot. That copper light fixture rocks. And those kit kat clocks give me the creeps - always have- shudders.
ReplyDeletehear hear? I believe I meant "here, here!" sorry about that...
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've always been confused about the "here,here" thing. Some say it is/was(?) "hear, hear" because the early forefathers in Europe wanted to be heard in their parliment. Any way you spell it though, Lake Tahoe always get's the "hear, here" ;- )
DeleteI think the Kit Kat Klocks are adorable - EXCEPT - these one's with the glow-in-the-dark & movable eyes could be VERRRY creepie at night! I shudder to think how many little kids were traumatized by them! Thanks so much for stopping by CailinMarie, I appreciate it :- )
I was wondering about you, hoping you weren't sick. Great post. Yes, we do need to get together, definitely this summer! Tina
ReplyDeleteNope, knock-on-wood, not sick, just THINKING I might die for a while there! But I'm hanging in & doing well. Hoping to get this ridiculous monkey off my back totally soon! I'm going to drop you an e-mail so we can get something together for a get together. I'm a great procrastinator but realizing these days that time flies waaaay too fast! Hope to see you soon!
DeleteI really commend you for trying to quit smoking, I do understand it's terribly hard. I have been after my Mom to quit for years now to no avail. Maybe one day, but I know it really does have to be her decision.
ReplyDeleteSpray paint.......it's a blessing and a curse. Painting plastic can be a real nightmare in and of itself as sometimes there are oils in the plastic that just do not want to take the paint. Also, the whole orange peel thing. I feel your pain on that aspect too as I have had the EXACT same thing happen to me. It seems that spray paint has this weird window of painting time - like you can try to do a some coats in quick succession maybe spaced a couple of hours apart depending on how fast the paint is drying, but if you wait say until the next day then the paint will freak out and orange peel on you. I either try to get all the spray painting done that first day, or then I plan on waiting it out a few days so it won't orange peel on me.
Glad you are back, it looks like you found some really great stuff and had a super fun get away!
Hi Sara! I picture you working 24/7 on your mom's wonderful time capsule condo & only coming up to write about it for Thursday's blog ;- ) So I sure appreciate you stopping by. The whole spray paint thing.....Oh, I'm sure I'll get back to it - that was a bad experience & I was frustrated. I'd had the orange peel thing happen before then read that unless you do another coat within one hour, you should wait 24 hours. So I did & was really perplexed. I guess different paint brands have different "rules". I'll stick with Valspar & read THEIR instructions next time :- )
DeleteThanks for stopping by kiddo. I appreciate it, and ALWAYS look forward to the Thursday update. Whatever are we going to do when you're all done?!?!?
Vic,
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to the spray paint horror. I spent all day painting one side of that Idaho Motel sign and the very last part of the sign bubbled up just like that. After losing my mind for about 1/2 hour, running into the street screaming, I had to strip the whole sign again....I didn't pick it up again for another month or 2. I'm not sure why this happens sometimes, it could be a dirty surface, maybe the can was not shaken well enough, or the item was too hot, there could be 1/2 dozen reasons why this happens occasionally. Don't give up, just walk away and come back to it later.
I didn not know those revolving-eyed cats were vintage. Well...the one's I've been looking at are knock-offs, but I din't know they'd been around. Just goes to show...there's nothing new under the sun. Good luck with breaking your habit.
ReplyDeletei saw your blog title when i was hanging out over at dear helen's and i had to come by because i'm gonna say i also believe in sponge curlers and cupcakes. and then i come over here and find out that you love lake tahoe which i do too (live in wa state now but go almost every year) and am loving all your delicious pickings. so im sending you best possible wishes for recovering from smoking. it will take a long time so go ahead and know you're in it for the long haul and also know you can do it. i say this from living through this process with others -- luckily this hasn't been my personal journey to overcome. i do have problem habits though, i assure you! i wish you all the best. xo
ReplyDeleteHey there! I hope you remember me. I am the girl from Folsom!
ReplyDeleteI hope you return to blogging soon! I have just returned from a long break and it feels great to be back! I still need to come see your store in Old Town :)
Hello. i was just sat doing some crochet and was thinking about you so thought i would hop on the laptop and see how you are. How is the giving up smoking going? Its been months. I hope your well and enjoying life. All is well with me and mine and the wedding is only 3 weeks away now it seems to have come round so quickly im getting excited now. Take care and hope you come back to blogland soon i miss you and your posts. Best wishes, dee x
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