old stuff

I just finished watching the first episode of American Pickers- a History Channel show about two guys and truck who go through barns, garages, and back yards looking for rusty junk that they buy cheap and then resell for a lot of money.   I was turned on to this show after a trip last weekend to the San Diego famous Kobey's Swap Meet.  I picked up a few choice items from the Swap Meet, but also from a few less conventional places...

I've been looking forward to sharing some of these 'treasures' here with you all... until I watched another tv show- Hoarders.  Suddenly my vintage finds and rusty treasures looked a little, well, dusty, old, and cluttered... However, you all will be happy to know that I overcame my Hoader-induced panic and after I took out all the trash from the house and put a few things away that I had been procrastinating on, I am now back to embracing my thrifty finds and looking forward to fixing/restoring/and otherwise enjoying said objects.

Here's what I got!

Copper kerosene ship lantern... I bought it for $5 from a garage sale guy at the swap meet.

A box of twin-lens reflex cameras!  There are several cameras- a Yashica, a couple Mamiyas, and a pair of Rollis!

Not sure if they work... to be determined... grand total: free!  (or a lifetime of servitude to the person who brought these babies into my life!)

Leather cowboy boots... IN MY SIZE!!!!  The leather is in in beautiful condition...

But they were just a little stiff... so after spending the night in the freezer with bags of water in them to stretch a little, I think they'll work!

Hello Beautiful!  Grand total: $0!  Again, another unconventional find... from a bag of clothes destined to the second hand shop.

And finally, sitting inconspicuously at the end of a table piled with junk, this baby:

Its a fullsized wooden trunk with metal detailing:

And this great paint job on the inside:

And I paid a total of ten bucks for it!  Major score!!!

Hope this isn't the start of horrible downhill slide to hoarder-dom!  At least I'll have cool boots to show for it!

-CtF

another dog post

Its been awhile dear blog friends!  Mr. Incredible and I have been kind of busy, kind of trying to get back into a routine after all the summer fun.  We've had some interesting moments- talk of a new job, major life changes, and then ultimately a little let-down, but we're still here, still 'chuggin' away' at life as we know it.

Since this has been both an eventful and uneventful last couple of weeks, I've turned to what I always turn to- photos of Nora!

She's almost two now and has been honing her skills as a Dock Diving Dog!

Her partners in crime for this last weekend, Cody and Molly, joined in on the fun:

Wait for the ball, launch off the dock:

Extend through the air:

And SPLASH!

Some of the dogs were more committed than others to the game:

Namely Molly and Nora:

While others (Cody) were perfectly happy to watch from the docks:

Hope you're holiday weekend was wonderful- wether you spent it flying through the air or sitting back and watching the show!

-CtF

Unbelievable!

I won!

Pioneer Woman Photography

whoo-hooo!

This week I entered one of Pioneer Woman's photography contests.  I've entered a few of her contests- but the chances of making it into one of her 'groups' is pretty slim when you're competing against 100,000 other photographs!

Her theme was 'love.'  I had the perfect shot from this summer...

And I made it into one of her groups!  Yippee!  This is even better than winning (ok maybe not... but nearly as good!).

Go visit her Photography section and admire the other finalists (I'm in group four if you want to see with your own eyes!)

-CtF

Canyons in Black and White

These photos were taken one morning at Lake Powell on a kayak/hiking adventure a few of us embarked on.  We kayaked to the end of a canyon, parked the boats, and then continued hiking until we could go no further.  We ended up in one of the area's infamous slot canyons.  The rock walls were an intriguing red color but the texture of the rocks and their interesting shapes begged to be turned into black and white images.  Enjoy these photos- it was quite an adventure!

-CtF

Lake Powell Images

photo by Mickey Nielsen

photo by Mr. Incredible

wedding photos

My dear friend tied the knot this past weekend.  We were fortunate to be able to celebrate with her and her love, Dan.  Here's a few photos from their sweet and simple wedding:

Congrats Laurel and Dan!