Rita Rose Has a Fan

Imagine that girl’s surprise yesterday morning, finding this little love token tacked to the store wall!  It seems that Chance, a charming and quite bright seven year-old whose mother owns Sarida, has taken a shine to Miss Rita Rose.  With this kind of adoration, that pug is going to have a devil of a time pouring herself into her newly acquired  swimwear .  Now the girl does not swim but she knows how to lounge with that little hind leg curled around with just a bit of ankle showing.  It is the very same pose she uses at the store, which brings most clients down to her level.  She is shameless!

My Idea of Perfect Daffodils!

Last weekend, Diane and I were overjoyed with writing in the very same room these divine daffodils live in.  They are on my friend John’s mantle and make me appreciate the gift of a flower gone by.  It was a rainy weekend with gale force wind…just the sort of weather for a tuck in, some hot sweet dark tea in one of John’s white mugs, a blank journal, a bottle of Havana brown ink, my favorite fountain pen, and a few prompts to get that pen moving.

Same Mantle Six Inches Away

Swear to God…John is a genius and a generous genius at that!  I have written about the house in Provincetown a number of times so try not to snooze off.  But the more I visit, the more I am in love with its quirky owner and its lovely light and its delicious silence.  Were it possible I would move right in and those of you who visit my store in Roslindale could stop by for tea.  Of course, you might have to travel some, but I assure you it is worth the journey.

A Man At My Feet!

Last August, just as hurricane Irene was about to visit Provincetown, I went to Victor Powell’s Workshop for a sandal fitting.  Now truly, dear friends, wouldn’t each of us love some nice man at our feet?  Flash forward…last Sunday, I went back for my final fitting and within hours, I had the treasured sandals in my suitcase.  Now all I need is a little vein stripping, some toenail polish, and a few hot days for the maiden voyage of said sandals!

Best Door Found at Todds Farm

Todds Farm was a bit of a bust two weeks ago.  But a girl can always find something after an early morning drive if for no other reason than to justify the insanity of an addiction.  That addiction being an open field and a couple hundred dealers with tables loaded down with items you truly do not need.  Each time I expect to find a treasure that slipped out of the grip of Sotheby’s.  This day, when the sun was just about to heat things up, I trudged through dusty fields looking for the odd bit that jumps off the dealer’s table into my waiting granny cart.  Slim pickins for sure!

It is during these early morning spring and summer jaunts on any given clear Sunday that I question it all.  Maybe it’s the long drive…maybe it’s the age I have become.  While the miles click away and Big Jane (my Honda) moves along, I think about folks I have known and loved…the few I have married and divorced and the ones that are no longer of this earth.  I also ponder the animals I have known, loved, and said good-by to.  So on the drive to Rowley, any given Sunday morning, I often do a little meditation on life just as if I were listening to some fantastic church sermon.  Once I pull into the big dusty field, I think to myself, yes it is so…. life is good!

Rowley's Finest!

This is not a portrait of a harried shop owner at 6:30 AM on her way to Rowley…though it could well be!  I would never let my horns show like this unless I pressed my hair shirt.  Last Sunday was opening day at Todd’s Farm.  Do I need to tell you I had the car all gassed up the evening before?  I had the chic black granny cart in the way-back of Big Jane and the assorted bags all tucked into the back seat ready for the big purchases…Rita Rose went along for the ride.  She has been mastering her French these days so we took along a French pastry or two for the long journey.  One for me, one for Rita Rose, and I don’t even speak French, but I know a good pastry when I taste one.

As expected, there were treasures and sights galore.  Fewer dealers…but the coffee and doughnut folks were there, and all the venders who give you their story on just where that gem of an item was found.  Seems there are lots of old ladies dying off these days with big cellars filled with family “treasure.”  A few dealers had new stories on the source of their “finds.”  Lovely, clever stories of the maiden aunt who traveled the world and died at 110, leaving all her worldly goods in the hands of this unshaven, hung-over dealer.  Maybe the 110 year-old auntie brought back this sizable boar!  Either way, I loved the thing, though he was a bit shocking to find in an open field on a crisp early  April morning .

Chairs On a Wall at Flora Grubb

Two weeks ago, I ventured off to my old stomping grounds…sunny California.  San Francisco to be more exact.  There was the Gift Show to attend and  several dear friends to check up on  and the need to see what the other Coast is up to.  Our first stop was Flora Grubb.  This, my dears, is a jaw-dropping experience.  We just don’t have places like this in New England!   There were palm trees galore and succulents and vibrant pink-air plants and odd bits of sharp leaves growing on moss and chairs on a barn-board wall.  My heart could barely take it all in…there was no question that, after Flora Grubb, I would need a salted carmel ice cream cone from Bi-Rite.  I mean, really, what better way to revive oneself than with a hit of salt and sweet!

Copper Rocks...Load Those Up Please!

Whenever I return to California, I wonder about life on the Snow (or lack thereof) Coast, and then I remember my little store and all those dear friends and my own little corner house that could sure use a copper rock or two.  That is when I know more visits are in order out West.  I do love this four-season world of New England…we could just use a bit more whimsey and an air plant or two!

Janette's Little Garden at Stinson Beach

My old friend Janette has a fine life, a lovely get-away at Stinson Beach, a superbly elegant flat in the city, which she shares with two dogs and a dear husband.  Janette and I go back more years than I care to recall.  We have shared divorces, births, deaths, wine, a wee business adventure, and endless pots of tea.  She is English, which naturally makes her a dog lover and an exceptional gardner.  I know, I know…not all English folks garden nor do they own dogs, but bear with me here, she does both quite nicely.

What I must tell you, in between all the  waxing on and on about friends and California, is this…the show in San Francisco was terrific!  I bought many unusual things for the store, including a remarkable Teak Spirit House from the late 20th century…which will reside in the store for years to come.  Arriving soon will be a few antique items from an importer I rarely get to visit.  Watch for the antique carved carp that may have held up the roof of a business in China many years ago.  Oh!  I had such fun!

One Night In New York City

Well, the Gift Show came along, as it does every January/February, and once again I was caught up in miles of displayed goods…most of which none of us need.  The first day of the gift show is always a blur of those goods, as I whip up one aisle after another, head turning at a rapid speed just to attempt an overview of all this merchandise!

I wonder, on DAY ONE, what in the world I am doing owning a store.  I think of all the things I thought I might become when I grew up and not one of those fantasies (years ago) had me as a shopkeeper.  I was going to be a country/western singer (can’t carry a tune in a bucket) or a sporty type who played tennis and skied down the Sierras (don’t like to sweat, hate the cold. and once ran into a tree while wearing skis), a wife with a country home and a city house and a big car and big hair and two kids (I did some of that…ended up with two fine daughters, two divorces and no houses).  Now one might think the store is a default item or a booby prize, which is not what I feel.  This little store is the love of my life, but damn it is hard to find goods on day one at the Gift Show!

So, after the long days of walking the Javitz, I dine with friends I rarely get to see.  I eat divine meals…one of which featured the above menu.  John Derian, once again, treated for dinner at il Buco.  We dined by candlelight in il Buco’s wine cellar just as we did last August, and the place, the people, the food was simply magic!  Thank you, John!

I ate another amazing meal at Frankies Spuntino on Clinton Street over on the lower East Side.  Now that is a neighborhood to investigate!  In all of this food, wine, and evening conversation, the goods for 6 Birch surfaced during the day in booths I rarely visit.  By day two, the store had a direction, and I had written some healthy orders for merchandise that will delight all of you.  Who needs the skis, the big hair, the two houses, or a microphone and country band when you can own a store!

A Wee Corner of John's Studio

I am forever charmed by the bits of inspiration this man surrounds himself with.  A visit to any artist studio is a peek into his or her soul.

Provincetown... Race Point Beach... January 2, 2012

Is there anything a gal loves more than handsome company for New Years Eve?  We headed off to P.Town (we being Rita Rose, Dino and I) for a few days with John in his remarkable house.  The two pugs loved the beach.  I loved the white sofa that sits just under the big side window at the far end of John’s dining room.  I loved the bed on the second floor with its blue Kantha cover and I didn’t find the beach half bad either!  We dined exceedingly well for three days.   On New Years Eve, John and I went to three (count them!) parties.  Each one a delicious experience and I don’t “do” parties easily.   I looked at a small cottage for sale that would require deep pockets of bucks  for its restoration.  I toy always with a move to just such a cottage (totally restored, of course) with the dunes at my back and a small sliver of that blue water at my front.  Dino insists that I buy the two of them a little “something,” but he doesn’t seem to be coming up with the down-payment!

This wonderful old block of ancient wood has been the support of many a fine meal at John’s.  One hot summer evening, John’s friend Bill prepared a salmon for grilling and then like magic he fried up a black skillet of capers to toss over the salmon.  I have watched John do wonders with the prep of an organic chicken on this fine block of a table.  There have been glasses of wine poured while we all stand around and eat cheese and olives from dishes placed on its worn surface.  I love this table!  If I bought that cottage in P.Town,  this table and I could become quite bonded!

The Ninth and Final Pajama Party!

This is it my darlings… our final pajama party.  We have had a long and wonderful run with this event, and it is time to find another adventure.  I have a plan that will treat all of you who have supported my little shop throughout the year.  It is a doozie of a plan (no, I am not taking you all on a cruise nor are we heading off to Venice, and it isn’t even a fine meal out at some fancy dive).  I will keep it secret while working out the pesky details.  Trust that you shan’t wear your pajamas for the next caper!

Some Trees Just Know How to Dress Up!

Was it Thanksgiving that a woman wandered into one of those big box stores for that insane just-after-midnight-opening, packing her pepper spray?  One does wonder what in the world she was thinking and why she or anyone else would camp out on the asphalt  parking lot for such madness.  While all that nonsense was going on, the date trees at China Ranch in Tecopa, California were wearing their best cotton shirts to keep the sun from scorching the tender dates.  This will be my next wander west to suss out this date farm.  My daughter, Andrea, sent me a one-pound bundle of dates from there, and I assure you those dates were the most delicious “date” I have had in years…and that includes both male and female!

Desert Spirits From Death Valley, California

It was my intention to go all Christmas with you and to feature all the gift items we are currently selling at 6 Birch Street.  I had intended to show you the interior of the store all tarted up with bobbles and what-nots.  What I can tell you is the store is stuffed with delicious goodies (even more delicious than those dates I spoke of moments ago).  I can tell you also that the first Holiday Wander of this season was a terrific success.  I can tell you that Rita Rose took over the cash register and ran the charges through with nary a mishap.  That little pug vixen is all set for the rush of holiday shoppers!  Dino has taken to the road again…he has a group of unsavory types, among them, a pit bull called Winky and a French poodle named Sassy.  They like to spend the first week of December in Las Vegas, and when they head west, it is Winky who does most of the driving. I worry a whole lot less knowing Dino is in the back seat handing out the roast beef sandwiches packed just for the adventure.

Fifty Miles Into a Nevada Road Trip

Nine days and fifteen hundred miles of sagebrush whipping past my driver side window. Nevada has the most liberal speed limits of any state I know…but one must always slow down to capture the local flavor.

Highway 50...A Must For Anyone's Bucket List

For this bit of madness, I had books on tape and assorted CD’s of wild music to play. Outside my rental car were wide open spaces unlike anything we get to experience here in the East.  If you haven’t traveled Highway 50 between Fernley, Nevada and Eureka, Nevada you just haven’t lived!

A Kind Warning Outside Austin, Nevada

The story goes that a local city council member lettered this for all of us who whip through Austin and in so doing miss all the local color.

Tuscarora, Nevada

One of the adventures on this nine-day caper was to attend a weekend writers workshop with Nancy McLelland at the Tuscarora Writers Workshop.  What a place Tuscarora is with its twelve residents…mostly artists and writers.  Once a thriving mining camp, it now offers just plain delicious photo opportunities wherever you aimed the Brownie Hawkeye!

Tuscarora Fence of Glass Bottle Necks

Talk about recycling!  This fence was a gem, which made me wish for an acre or two for my very own bottle neck embellishment.  The only bottleneck in my part of the world is on Route 128 during the morning commute.

Tuscorara Fence With Local Bones

Tuscarora Pottery School

This little gem of a place sits dead center in this community of wonderful artists.  It is, I am told, about the finest pottery school around.  If the studio work, kilns and books published by the directors are any example…I must agree!

From Tuscarora to Eureka, Nevada

Dry desert air can do wonders to a fine paint job.  This was but one of the many trucks that begged to be photographed.  Hell, this blog could go on for days with this sort of shot!

Austin, Nevada

What could be better than one lone tree along a side road embellished with character? Because Nevada is my tribe, I totally understand the need for this sort of thing and relish every trip I make when returning to my roots.  Nothing and everything makes sense in Nevada!

A Favorite Grave Site in Eureka, Nevada

Just tell me you wouldn’t give the earth for this chain link and its forged iron tassel surrounding your own little plot of land.  Victorian detail knocks me silly with wonder.

Angel With Finger Raised!

The above nonsense could go on forever but at the risk of losing you with this lengthy post, I will leave you here in Eureka.  Trust me…this is not the end.

Lodgings and Red High Heels

Just when we thought September might be the “normal” month…I am off for a nine day adventure!  You can be certain there will be tales to tell about this caper.  Soon I will fly into Reno, Nevada, rent a car, see my wonderful Aunt Roma, who cared for my difficult, challenging and also wonderful mother at the end of her days.  I more than owe Roma for that one!  Then I will head out Highway 50 (considered “America’s Loneliest Road” by Life magazine years ago) for what promises to be quite a road trip!  My end destination…once I have traveled through two small towns and gone nearly 300 miles…is Eureka, Nevada, a town established in its boom years of 1870-85 where all the gold, silver, and lead was dug out of Eureka’s limestone from the Ruby Hill shafts just outside of town.  I am not opening up a Joanne Rossman shop on Eureka’s main street…I am there to visit my daughter, Andrea, and to take a weekend writers retreat with Nancy McLelland, who runs the Tuscarora Writers Retreats.  I can barely wait!  I nicked this divine shot of a well used workman’s trailer off Nancy’s website and I thank her for that.  Stay tuned Loves….for what promises to be high desert adventures!

Decoupage Dreams in il Buco's Wine Cellar

Have I told you about the evenings spent after days at the Javits?  Of course I have!  I must have mentioned a time or two about the dinners out, right?  Well, this was a magical night hosted by John Derian at Il Buco.  Sadly, the photograph is a tad dark but the food was divine, the company splendid…I had as my main course Pappardelle, which is a dish of fresh ribbon pasta, beef cheek sugo (when was the last time you had beef cheek?!), mint, and ricotta salata.  It was truly worth the risk…beef cheek is not something I would tend to order.  There were assorted plates to start the adventure and a light red wine to sip while surrounded by cellar walls of old brick holding endless bottles of wine…all of it lit by candlelight.  HEAVEN!

The Magical Host...John Derian

It seems a fine time to chat about the goods ordered.  First of all,  if you have never been to the Javits Center, you have missed nothing!  The place is beyond huge, the air is forced in through some odd filtering system, the booths are too many to count, and the choices make one dizzy with decision.  I walk this show twice a year, and I am amazed by the wonder of it all and sometimes the why of it all.  Along with all our old favorites, I have added several new artists and designers, a number of new book publishers, more wonderful paper products, a new baby line, some amazing teas, and two new jewelry designers…the list could go on and on.  Good things are in store for us all!

Dog Does the Javits in Style!

This little pooch was all tarted up for the Javits, as was her owner!

Paletas Vendor on the High Line

The last day in New York City, I walked the new section of the High Line.  What a way to view the city!  I bought from this vendor a paletas which I have never eaten before.  I nearly ordered the paletas book for the store, and now I am sorry I didn’t.  The flavor I had was mango and jalapeno pepper…icy cold and delicious!

One last word on food in New York City before you all doze off!  You must eat sometime in The Red Cat on tenth avenue near twenty-third.  The last night I was in the city, I went unfashionably early to dinner and stayed unreasonably late!  I loved my waiter (Brazilian and handsome).  I loved my little table where I could watch the comings and goings of the room, but most of all I loved the food!  I ordered three small plates…lime Cesar salad, gazpacho soup made with heirloom tomatoes, soft shelled crab on a bed of thinly sliced celery root with fried capers scattered about…if that wasn’t enough I ordered dessert!  A coconut panacotta with carmelized pineapple and spiced macadamia nut crunch over the top!  Add to this a glass of wine, coffee to finish, and I was a happy camper.