Opening of Filling Station Studios

It's official.  My friend and studio partner Nancy Stark and I took the plunge this month and opened a small art studio - Filling Station Studios - which will also be the base for The Red Pantry (which will feature vintage cookware, cookbooks and garden decor such as my handpainted  birdhouses).  It is by all means a labor of love and a work in progress but we are excited about experimenting and sorting it all out this coming year.  

Nancy is in the process of designing a logo (and painting!) while I work on our business cards, event postcards, mailing list, Twitter accounts (@FillingStudios, @RedPantry) and Facebook page.  Eventually we hope to launch a website in January and begin to have events such as pop up supper club dinners and paint workshops.  Our plans are to open up the studio to the public one weekend a month to sell our artwork, furniture and Red Pantry collection.  

And of course to display 'the Ox'....more about that later!

Please email me at fillingstationstudios@verizon.net if you want to get email notices about openings and events (or follow us on Twitter).

Let it Snow

This weekend Irv is solo in CT eating hot dogs by the fire, reading Zane Grey, and cursing Ikea once again as he puts a bedframe together.  

Irv sends me a picture of his Friday evening while I send him a picture of mine out in Lambertville with my friend Nancy.

Nancy and I are celebrating what I hope (snow and ice permitting) is the open house of our joint art studio venture we call 'Filling Station Studios' which is located in a gas station in Hopewell NJ.  Nancy will be painting and selling her art, furniture and signs...

...while I run shotgun making and selling my birdhouses and perhaps some vintage cookware and books from my 'red pantry' collection.

If you venture into Hopewell, come visit us (corner of Maple Ave and Route 518). If we get snowed out we will have a (re) open house on Sat Dec 21

Propane at last, Propane at last, Thank God Almighty Heat that Lasts

FINALLY we can (somewhat) stop worrying now that we have propane and heat.  I never thought this would be so stressful.  Over the holiday week Irv and I managed to finish the painting and trim work in the library.  Now onto killing all the mice that seem to be eating the soap in our bathroom!

After Thanksgiving Irv and I decided to treat ourselves by visiting Mystic Seaport on a rainy Sunday morning.  At one gallery we were greeted and then led through the rooms by a very eager and over exuberant museum guide who talked to us about virtually every item and asked us questions and waited for the answers (one question when looking at a chinese robe brought back to the US by a sea captain "Do you know how Chinese Warriors got to battle?" Wait for it pause...um, by horse?  Yes!  Score!). I told her I wasn't expecting a pop quiz this morning.  The comment did not faze her as she continued to educate and quiz us.  Thank goodness we got most of them right! She later told us she was a retired 3rd grade teacher.  No surprise there.  At one ship model, she said "What do you see painted on the sides?"  "Cherubs?", I said.  "Nudes!!", she said.  I bet she doesn't point that out to 3rd graders!

By the end of the rainy day, Lewis enjoyed sleeping by the fire in a bean bag chair.  Lucky boy.

Crazy Weather

I have just boarded the train in Westerly on my way to Trenton.  I got the only seat left and because it is pouring rain I am sitting in the 'drip' seat where water is dripping on my arm like a water torture.  Lucky me.  If I hold my arm behind me it drips on the seat but I don't think I can hold that position for 4 hours!

Nancy and her daughter Abby came up to CT this weekend.  We found a fabulous cider mill where they press cider using a steam engine.

Then we went to lunch in Noank at an old general store that has a 1950's ice cream counter where Abby ordered a strawberry milkshake done the old fashioned way with just ice cream and milk.

After everyone left on Monday I was able to crank up the radio with some serious rock and roll.  I finished painting the room Irv calls the library.  Thank goodness Nancy was here on Monday to help us put together 2 Ikea bookcases-I don't ever want to do that again.  Bad Hemnes!  

In the end, though, the room (and my newly painted shabby chic mantle) look good.

It is Very Quiet Here

It is 7 am and so quiet here except for the sound of an occasional gun shot (it is prime hunting season) and Lewis banging on the door because he wants to go out (again!). Yesterday was a warm day and while Irv was at Home Depot (another again!!) I took the dogs to venture a bit on the Barn Island Trail.  I love this outcropping of rocks on our neighbors yard.

It feels like Vermont yet you can feel the ocean breezes and hear the fog horns.  

The trail is beautiful.  This really is why we are here-funky house, on again, off again heat, quirky tradesmen, and a farm near the ocean

The Heat Is On...Then Off...Then On...Then Off

Irv spent another 'men only' weekend addressing the various heating issues-furnace and fireplaces-as well as feverishly painting.  This time moving into the final unpainted room on the first floor which we call 'the fireplace room' or 'the library' or 'that other room'.

Good news.  The heat was on when Irv arrived.  Bad news.  The heat stopped when he left (out of propane).  Oh dear.  Luckily the chimney sweep showed up Friday and Irv was able to spend his evenings in front of a fire with a book.  

For a nice change of pace,  he was able to take a walk on the hiking trails behind the house that are part of the 995 acre Barn Island Wildlife Management Area.  Here is a link to the hiking map (the hippie house is located near the entrance). www.theday.com/assets/pdf/NL80928210.PDF

No show Weekend

We seem to be having a problem getting any heat source in this house.  No show on the furnace guy who perhaps is having some personal problems. No show on the chimney guy because it was too windy on Friday.  The brand new oven needs a replacement fan.  Can't get no heat!  Thank goodness it was a warm weekend.

Mighty dog Lewis had his struggles this weekend starting with throwing up in the car 10 minutes from the house then 3 times after that-then he was starving and wanted to eat (how do they do that?).  Then he hurt his foot somehow and could barely walk all Saturday but recovered in time to bark his fool head off at 4 am this Sunday morning and insisted on being walked (with no limp).  Twice.  He said he didn't know it was daylight savings time.  Thank goodness the coffee maker works. 

The kitchen at 5:30 am.  

Waiting for heat to arrive

It is 6 am on Saturday and Irv is up in CT solo this weekend.  I just checked the weather and it is 28 degrees and there is still not a working furnace in the house.  Ouch he must be cold !!  Hopefully  today the new furnance gets its test run as the plumbers were there yesterday working on it.

Irv did manage to go out one night to a restaurant on Stonington harbor ( he can  actually go out at night because I have Norman the rage dog with me) and took this evening picture.

With the exception of the heating system, he is happy that now both  boats -- Tashtego 1 and Tashtego 2 are now up in CT at their new home.  

     Tashtego 2 

And much progress has been made on the barn which was missing several windows, missing siding on the back and was in need of repairs on the garage bays due the over zealous chickens pecking the doors. Our British carpenter did a great job.  Here are before and after pictures.

The before...

and after....

Finally our  friends Ken and Kathy will be happy to know that the harpoon they gave Irv has found a home as well.  

Making progress under a Hunters Moon

What a spectacular Fall weekend.  This weather has been amazing and excellent for painting.  So many things to write about.  First, the sky.  Since Lewis generally wakes up at 5 am I now find myself walking him outside and noticing how really beautiful the sky is that time of the day-especially on a clear morning with this weekends moon.  Orion is prominent as are all the constellations and it is so quiet except for the occasional car of a neighbor going to work early.  

The tree guys came and trimmed the trees and took away lots of wood.  While they were there, our very British carpenter Richard was there as well 'fixing up' the Doll House as my father calls it.  I realized that as I was talking to the tree guys that we all saw the pile of logs we wanted removed differently.  When I looked at the pile all I saw was messy rotting wood that would attract mice and insects.  The tree guys saw the pile as income.  Richard saw the pile as something to burn in his woodstove.  Both guys could not understand why we would want to get rid of it.  The Goat House (as we are now calling it) looks much cleaner.

I am having a hard time writing this because my hand is so numb from painting but four rooms are done-half of the first flloor.  This is a not so good picture looking from the front door into the newly painted mudroom and into the newly painted kitchen.

Yes that is the house harpoon in the corner.  

Irv and I also decided it was time we actually cook in the kitchen.  We turned on the oven in our brand new stove and there was a buzzing noise so loud we could hardly hear each other talk.  It even continued after we turned the oven off so much so that Irv had to turn the oven off. When I called the Appliance store where we bought it they said 'oh, that's normal' Whatttt?  Oh no I said.  Repair guy coming next week.  Arghh.  

Our laconic furnance guy did not show up last week and Irv is getting nervous as the nights are starting to get colder.  He said he will be here this week-we shall see!  Unfortunately we have no wood stoves (all removed because of none were installed to code), no yet working fireplaces (chimney sweep not coming until Nov and we don't want to fill the house with smoke again), and I got rid of the wood.  Oh well, let's hope he shows.

It's a Man's World Weekend

Irv is solo up in CT this weekend. Not even the dogs.  But he is not alone but for the company of other men.  Friday - Irv and the tree guy.  Irv and the phone/internet guy.  Irv and the furnace guys.  Saturday - my father stops over with other guys to fill Irv's potential 'Man Cave' in the barn with someone else's stuff (only temporarily).  Every time my Dad comes over he gives another guy a tour of the property.  They all seem particularly enamored of the basement which my father has dubbed 'the Arizona room'

This is an old picture of the 'Man Cave' when the owners were still living there.  It is on the second floor and has a balcony off to the side that overlooks the tree house (yes there is a tree house in the back, I guess it is more like a play house-it needs some TLC like everything else).

The only picture of the 'Arizona room' is an old one from before we moved in but you can get a sense of its aura

Sweet.  This is the listing photo.  Yes there is a tree down there. Really. And evidently the floors are heated.  We shall see when we get heat.

The painting continues while Norman rages

Another weekend and we were determined to get one room painted.  Our good friend and master painter Nancy came up and we spent the weekend painting the kitchen and living room and they are done!!  Hurray.

We were able to go out Friday night to a bar in Westerly Rhode Island where they serve the largest Martinis (for only $10-12) that you can't finish one and expect to walk out of the place without assistance.  I only drank half this time after learning my lesson the night of our closing and realizing later what hit me.

Unfortunately Nancy got to witness one of Norman's night rages-when we returned he had torn through 2 window screens, soiled an upstairs bathroom (why that room-perhaps it was symbolic since it is painted red-red for rage?), and the ultimate indignity he peed all over Irv's espresso machine which was on the mudroom on the floor behind a closed door which he managed to open.  I am sure the neighbors heard Irv's screams (but then again they might have been passed out by then).  

Thing are shaping up but we have a long way to go.  It was nice to sit on our deck Sat night and watch people riding horses in front of the house.  The dogs did a double take (the same look when the spyed the large bull sitting near a fence on the farm nearby).  Whattttt is that?

Paint, Paint, Skunk, Pod

I am sure every muscle in my body is maxed out.  After a marathon session of priming two rooms over the weekend, my hand has gone completely numb and I am unable to close it accept around a paint brush.  I woke up Sat morning with the realization that most of the walls in the hippie house need to be primed first and then painted because ALL of the walls were done in semi-gloss ( and the trim in flat- that is a reversal of my paint world).  We tried putting samples on the wall but they almost slid off - hence the primer which took me 4 solid/no-bathroom-break hours to finish.  

The ex-cons showed up during the week without permission or an estimate and did a bad hair job on the weeds but at least you can see the barn...see Lewis strolling in front of the barn.

Then Saturday the 'Pod' arrived with our furniture.  Irv and I struggled to empty it (which we did but I can't feel my legs anymore).  One of the neighbors stopped to say hello and some how to let us know that the neighbors to our right (on the dead end street) are all alcoholics (including her) divided into 'those with guns' and 'those without guns...well maybe not but they don't drink and shoot'.  Nice.  I am not making this up.  I only hope they don't hit the boy scouts in the camp behind the house. Perhaps there is a reality show in this- Barn Island Marsh People!  The neighbors to our left had on Sat night the biggest bon fire in their yard that I have ever seen in any yard...kids running around with men drinking beers watching the fire.  Beers, guns and fire are big here.....is this the real Stonington CT here?  Oh , yes and pizza (big Italian population here).

 And the skunks. As a kid, I remember there were lots of skunks in that area.  The dogs get me up at 5 am Sun to go out and as soon as we go outside a skunk the size of a bear crosses the road.  The dogs GO INSANE. Lewis went from being 13 to being 2 yrs old...I almost lost my arm keeping them from pulling me face first down the street.  Irv was sleeping sweetly during the skunk near encounter.  

Week 2 - The 'Tin Man' arrives along with the dogs

Within a few days Irv and I take what will be many high speed competitive drives from NJ to CT at the crack of dawn to begin to tackle the house and get it ready for winter.  My father hires The Tin Man who looks and talks like Joe Pesce except with biceps like Popeye to haul away the broken stove, frig, two microwaves and one wood stove.   We get the low down on some neighbors as an added treat.  My stepmother Marion hires 2 'navy ladies' (husbands are deployed in submarines) who are very nice, look a bit haggard, charge way too much and only get to the kitchen and some bathrooms (and not well done-I spent the weekend recleaning).  Oh well. Support the troops.  

Irv and my Dad assess the electrical system and the furnace.  Good news.  The wiring works as does the plumbing.  Bad news.  No fuel oil and the furnace might have been cobbled together.  Oy vey.  Irv calls his brother Richard, a heating and fuel guy, who will try and come up in Oct to assess the situation before we and the pipes freeze. Its only $$$$.

The dogs are a bit freaked out...

Norman's face says it all - what is going on?

The yard is a mess which Marion bravely and expertly begins to tackle....she then informs me she has procured a 'team' aka gang of ex/cons and the homeless to clean up the yard.  Whattttt??????  They arrive this weekend, along with our 'POD'  of cast off furniture.  Again, oy vey.

We have eaten so much junk that the gym/weight loss/walking regimen establised pre-closing has gone out the window.   But a new fridge arrived and was quickly filled ( in this order) with a) beer, b) vodka, gin and ice and c) hot dogs.  We find out the previous owner left lots of sausages in a freezer we found in the basement.  When I asked him about it he said 'take some, I believe you met the piggies last fall'.    Oink.

Week 1 - The Closing and The Reality

We closed on the house about 2 weeks ago after a wild toad ride through the dark and frightening world of short sales, banks and mortgage. Needless to say, our experience affirms to me why the American banking system is still a mess and why lots of people are continuing to get hurt by these institutions.  Ok my rant is over.  We take possession of the house with the owners not quite moved out.  Ok we are not happy but go with the flow (soon to be our motto - ok, just chill and go with the flow.)

The house does have charm (albeit it was and still is hidden under a lot of dirt, neglect and stuff).  The topping on the cake was the text I received from the now former owners letting me know , BY THE WAY, that neither the refrigerator or stove is working........one of many soon to discover 'non working' items.  

Irv and I just bought a Hippie House in Connecticut

After a year of looking for a relatively affordable house near the water in southeastern CT, Irv and I finally closed on the house I call 'The Hippie House'. 

When we first saw it, it had (really, no kidding) 2 turkeys, at least 12 chickens, 1 horse and what seemed like a dozen people living on the property...oh I forgot the 2 pigsty on the front lawn.  The property is not zoned for farming but  the owners were, well, pretty free spirits - she a colon hydrotherapist (which perhaps explains why anything with water is the only thing that works in the house) and he an Austrian bodybuilder stone mason (which is why the house looks European and full of stone work).  But more about that later.  

The house has several out buildings and is located in the Barn Island Wildlife area of Pawcatuck CT (aka mosquito-ville as we have come to realize).   I will be using this site to blog chronicle our journey of taking the house from hippie sad to hippie chic.

Plum Crazy for Vintage Pressed Glass Relish Dishes

Maybe because it is winter, but I have found a new love.  Vintage Press Glass Relish Dishes.  I have always loved glass.  It must run in the family (my brother is a stained glass artist and my house is filled with his work).  Or perhaps because when photographed by sometimes look like snowflakes when you look at them under a microscope. 

I like the feel of the different shapes and sizes, bumps and crevices.  Best of all, I like the memories they evoke from holidays past.  Looking at these dishes reminds me of the whole nuts (walnuts, almonds and the deep mahogany brazil nuts) that were always available (along with the nut cracker) in these dishes on end tables as people sat in various family members living rooms catching up.  Or the various assortment of olives (always from jars, and always green with pimento or black) on one side, and perhaps some pickles (gherkins, bread and butter, maybe dill) on the other.  Then the dishes filled with various hard candies always available at my grandmother’s house. 

As a kid, I never really appreciated the shapes and sizes that say so much about when they were made.  Some, such as this square dish, just screams l920s or l930s.  Others just say l940s or l950s.  Either way, they say warm memories of family holidays to me.

Cookbook Foraging

After several long months of being adrift, I am back in the saddle again on the thrifting and gaining momentum.  While the warmer months seem like the optimal time to meander in and out of thrift stores, I am finding that winter is the time I like best. It seems like a good enough thing to do to while away some time on a gray winter day.  And, there are few people out and no crowds (and it always involves going out to a diner for breakfast on a cold winter weekend).

I have gotten pretty psyched with many of my finds.  Like this originally published 1930 Savoy Cocktail book with its art deco illustrations in mint condition.

Or, this cookbook written by ‘Elsie the Cow’ from the 1950’s. The dust cover was in the book in bad shape, but the illustrations are priceless.

Finally, how about this cookbook devoted to recipes for edible insects?  At first I thought it was a joke, but it is a serious cookbook written by a noted academic with deep subject matter expertise on what insects are edible or not.  I imagine that this person is likely to be well known among ‘survivalists types’ but I doubt if my East Coast friends, besieged by Stink Bugs the past few years, knew that they are supposed to be delicious when roasted. Remember this during the next power outage when you run out of food…..a great gift to give people who bug you.

Recipe for "Stink Bug Pate"

(from "Creepy Crawly Cuisine" by Julieta Ramos-Elorduy, Ph.D.)

Despite their name, stink bugs are actually one of the most delectable insects.  Here, they add a unique flavor to a traditional pate.

1/3 pound roasted stink bugs

10 chicken livers

4 cloves garlic

1 small onion

1/8 tsp salt

Black Pepper, Oregano, Marjoram, Powdered Bouillon, and Olive Oil to taste

Saute the chicken livers in a saucepan with the garlic, onion, salt and pepper and cover.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the chicken livers and place in a blender or food processor, reserving the broth.  Add the roasted stink bugs and about 1/4 cup of the reserved broth and puree, adding more broth as needed, until the mixture is smooth and reaches a spreadable consistency.  Add spices and oil to taste.  Place in a wooden bowl and serve with crusty french bread.

By the way, I have never seen so many “In the Kitchen with Rosie” books in my life.  Poor  Rosie.  It is hard to believe this book is selling new for $12.00 when there must be a bazillion copies in thrift stores all over America.  I saw so many copies in each store that I started to pull them all together in each store so they would not be so lonely…..