Ocean Springs

I arrived yesterday morning in Gulf Port, Mississippi in the midst of a rainstorm. It was coming down like an overflowing bath tub from above, and deep puddles had already formed in the car rental lot. I love rain, but yesterday was my only afternoon to explore the area. Luckily, it lessened to a drizzle by afternoon and I was able to get over to Ocean Springs.

I spent a lovely afternoon with a friend, driving around the area together. After lunch at a yummy Chinese Buffet with everything from eggrolls and Schezwan green beans to macaroni and cheese and tapioca, we headed over to Ocean Springs. We found a sweet little downtown lined with Live Oaks. At the center, we discovered a vintage drug store complete with soda fountain.


Please note that this was a very clean establishment, but I am still enamored of the blending overlays created by Cottage Arts. (See previous posts) I am really enjoying playing with these overlays and the vintage quality they give my photos.

The town has several art galleries and we enjoyed wandering around one filled with intricately hand-crafted glass art.

Later, we drove over to the Gulf Islands National Seashore Visitor Center at the Davis Bayou. It was gorgeous looking out at the drizzly marshes. The film about the Gulf Islands detailed their shifting history and variety of wild life including the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Apparently, only one out of a thousand sea turtles make it to adulthood. Most are eaten by other creatures, who especially like the eggs.

I had a great time and very nice company. The rest of this week I am in a meeting with a fantastic group of people. Intense, but good. Sometimes, it is nice to work for the government...

Briar Rose Orange Scarf

I finished the scarf from the beautiful shades of orange yarn, that I spun from around 6 ounces of Briar Rose Fibers Blue Faced Leicester wool. (See the yarn hanging to dry in the post from October 29.)

I cast on 68 stitches and did a 2x2 rib (knit 2, purl 2), slipping the first stitch of each row. Then I knit two together across the row to get 34 stitches and continued in a 1x1 rib (knit 1, purl 1). Towards the end, I increased (lift the thread between two stitches from the previous row and knit or purl, to keep in pattern, into the back of the stitch). I love hand spun yarn in a rib pattern- it is soft, bouncy, and squishy.

This week, I also make a card for a friend's birthday. I used cardboard as my substrate, prints of vintage photos, a page from a 1887 almanac, a page from a French language book, tissue paper, decorative paper, Golden soft gel as an adhesive, acrylic paint, Pan pastels, Adirondack Ink (tea dye) Smooch Spritz (red) and stencil, black ink, white gel pen, copic pens, stamp with Staz-on black ink, rub-on letters, and acrylic sealer. I am working on layering vintage papers and photos while still retaining their beautiful qualities. I did not want to cover much of the almanac page, since it had so much interesting information on it.

Remington 5 Typewriter

I fell in love. With a typewriter. Strange, I know, but, take a look.



A month ago I decided that I wanted a manual typewriter. I love the quality of typed text, and, although I knew I could get typewriter fonts for Word, I wanted the real thing. I started checking out different eras of typewriter innovations. I have always been seduced by the design aesthetics of the 1930s, so when I found the Remington 5, I was smitten. It is described as the "streamline", named after this style of the 30s, with smooth, round edges,and deco lettering. (There is actually a Remington Streamliner, which is different). I participated in some bidding wars on eBay and lost, until I found this one. It was destiny....



Some people dismantle these for the keys. While I like typewriter key jewelry, it is tragic to salvage the keys and throw away such a beauty.

We are developing our relationship, as I practice typing out fictional letters. My Remington 5 works very well. I was able to find new ribbon in original cartridges, so I may type all I want. It requires quite a bit of finger strength. I don't know how writers typed out their novels on these old manual typewriters, but I love the sound and the feel.

One more photo of my vintage beauty....



Photo uses Cottage Arts Photo Blend 2-1