Vintage.  Vintage is a good word.  Multiple ideas float to the surface and compete with each other… wanting to be written.

Second hand stores… that hidden vintage treasure.  Going with my Grandmother when I was a little girl and hating the musty smell of it.  Going later, with purpose to find that glittery dress or shirt or skirt that would make the perfect base for a Wearable Art outfit.  Going with my good friend on a sunny Saturday morning and leaving with two baskets of Christmas decorations.  None of them vintage, and I suspect some of them came right from Walmart.

Vintage makes me think of grainy pictures.  Pictures of my Grandmother when she lived here, in Ketchikan in 1924.  I get distracted by the logistics of that… how old was she?  Did she go to high school here?  Maybe she was only here a summer, but from the was she talked about it, if felt longer.  In any case, she is standing on a log pinching her nose because the spawned out salmon smell so bad.  I have adopted that exact same pose once or twice over the years.

Miami.  And the art-deco buildings.  And while art-deco is not really my style, I LOVED walking along the busy road, those cool old buildings bathed in sun on one side and the white white sand of South Beach the other side.  That architecture was unexpected.  A wonderful -vintage- surprise, we were only there a night or two, but we had some energy and walked and walked in that beautiful Florida sunshine.

Vintage makes me think of a million DIY shows where old and vintage items are re purposed and “given new life.”  I am a secret fan of these shows and would watch them all day long if I could.  A short story fits in right about here…. My middle daughter went to Gonzaga University in Spokane.  Whenever I researched Spokane, something called Farm Chicks showed up.  (Farm Chicks) I followed up and found a date of their big show.  I bought a ticket and flew in to see the event with my daughter.  It was a BIG deal.  It covered the entire fairgrounds and people brought both re purposed and vintage items from miles around, other states even.  It was PACKED.  Packed with shoppers, packed with booths, packed with food vendors, beer and wine.  We did not buy much.  I collect very few vintage things…. and anything I saw that would fill out my collection was out of my budget.  Those lovely railroad transistors in blues and greens?  The ones we FOUND on the railroad tracks when we were kids?  $75.00!!  Plus, traveling with a suitcase means you cannot buy that sweet floor lamp made from antique kitchen implements.  All that aside, it was an EVENT, whether you buy anything or not, do yourself a favor and go. Especially if you are a pinterest queen like myself.

So you can see, vintage took me all over the place…. and if I did not have a busy busy day, it could take me much further.  But I am off now, I hope everyone has a LOVELY day!