Rust and Lace

Its finally getting warm! Sort of, since as I speak the rain has returned outside. This is probably to be expected, since I live somewhere wrested from the rain forest, and more recently than much of the country. None the less, a chance to feel the sun on my back was wonderful.

Everything is thrifted once again, and I could look at this shade of orange all day! There are many beautiful things with unusual backs appearing lately, a trend I hope will continue. I wish I had gotten a better shot of the belt, which is a little elephant covered in scrolled etchings.

Retracing

 "Sleep is not, death is not; Who seem to die Live. House you were born in, Friends of your spring-time, old man and young maid, Day's toil and it's guerdon, They are all vanishing, Fleeing to fables, Cannot be moored."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

In my lifetime so far, I've lived many places. Until recent years there was never much retracing, once we left a place, it stayed frozen in memory exactly as it was. 

Going back to places frozen this way feels like moving inside a photograph, surreal. 

 Many years ago my family lived on a small college campus in Missouri. The college recently shut down, merging with a larger one nearby. Now the campus stands empty, one of the only things largely unchanged from my memory.

Other than the absence of my house, even the outline of it erased by lush grass, and of an entire street of little white houses, eerie and abandoned even then. We used to love to sneak into them, and wonder at the lives of their occupants

I wonder what the world now will look like when painted by memory?

Thai Black Rice Pudding

 Thai black rice pudding is one of the most delicious foods known to man. I've even ordered it in lieu of dinner at a Thai restaurant, and I really enjoy Thai food! Very wholesome for a dessert, it also makes a lovely breakfast. The recipe is simple- (serves six)

2 1/2 cups water

1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk

1 1/4 cup black rice*

1/8 cup sugar (honey would be nice too)

zest and juice of one lime (optional)

Bring rice and water to boil in a large saucepan, then set to simmer covered  for forty-five minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed, stirring towards the end. Then add most of the coconut milk, setting aside just a bit for serving, and lime juice. Bring back to a boil for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with a dash of coconut milk and lime zest.

 I hope you enjoy this recipe, and have a marvelous day!
* Black rice is also labeled purple rice, or forbidden rice, and can be found at most health food stores.

Dressed in Purple

Sometimes thrift shopping is a long chase. Hours of digging can result in treasure (usually) or nothing (not often enough to suit my wallet!). This particular skirt however was just hanging there outside the dressing room, waiting for me! One woman's no go is... well you know the rest.

I absolutely love the trim around the bottom, the lacy petticoat underneath and the beautiful swinging movement of so much fabric. And it was packed with other items in a bag for seven dollars deal at Anchor Thrift Store in Ocean Shores Washington. It is a little store and out of the way, but for my money has better quality items than many larger stores.

I've found a number of gorgeous sixties dresses, and accessories that seem like they came from exotic vacations there. It is in a retirement community, which makes these sort of donations wonderfully likely. Its always fun to look for thrift stores in areas where people are different from you, especially on vacation. Even the things you don't want to buy are fun in an anthropological sense!

So if you pass a tiny, maybe even sketchy looking, secondhand store, give it a look! The shoes and necklace are also thrifted, and the shirt is from Walmart of all places! Have a nice day!

Moon City

Moon City- what a lovely name! And an interesting place. North Springfield, a small town incorporated into Springfield in 1871, went by this enchanting moniker. In ye slightly less olden times (10 years ago) when I lived here, this area was pretty worn down. A few crowded antique stores, and a marvelous restaurant that trained former convicts as chefs were its main attractions.

In the present time the area retains its Aladdin's cave thrift stores. Crowding in a merchandise sense is the glory of a good secondhand store and the bane of a bad one.  Decades was particularly wonderful, with racks and racks of colorful clothes in many sizes and eras, and a charming and ebullient shop girl. 

I wanted to take half the shop home! But settled on a fifties mid length skirt with pink Cadillacs cruising the bottom, and a flowered mandarin collar jacket.

There were even some shoes who's flowery toes match exactly a purse I got on the same road when I lived here! It makes me wonder if they belonged to the same person in a much matchier era.

Unfortunately arrived close to sundown and many shops had closed, but Hakaar's Bazaar, with 60's pottery, shrunken heads and giant metal insects remained. As did a new tattoo shop with an art gallery full of paintings that looked like the inside of a marble, beautiful! 

Everyone was very friendly and chatty, something I noticed about the state as a whole. It takes a bit of getting used to at first! Washingtonians are not less friendly so much as reserved, courtesy amounts to not inconveniencing others more than making connections. 

I loved all the art incorporated into everyday things we found! The timing was perfect if not for shopping than for enjoying the golden light and warm air of the evening.

My brother Ryan swore that the coffee options had improved vastly and he was right! Trust a college student to know these things. Big Momma's had comfortable seating, great lighting, a concert area in the back and most importantly coffee that came in more than black and not black. I had a delicious concoction named "Blair's Brew" with chai, caramel, white chocolate and a banana blended. 

There were many places I wished we had time to see! I would love to sit in this cafe with the breeze blowing and let conversations wind their slow way.

I had the good fortune to be there on the night prom was being held, and have a few lovely girls not mind my paparazzi-ing. The ones without poses, as is often the case, came out best. 

The Jefferson avenue footbridge, largest in America, crossed over these train tracks. It would have been easy to spend hours here exploring! 

Someday I hope to have more time to do so, but in the meantime if you ever get a chance, Moon City/North Springfield is well worth checking out.

The Depths

Glasses clink sharply in the near darkness. Laughter mingles with the shuffle of feet and the pulse and pop of music. Bats swish softly overhead. Wait, what? 

A speakeasy is only one of the iterations the Fantastic Caverns has gone through in its many centuries of existence. And all have failed to detract from the beauty and fascination of this enormous cave.

Discovered by a farmer during the Civil War, the cave was kept secret for many years to stop it becoming a key hiding place for either side. It wasn't explored very thoroughly until 1867, when the farmer put an add in the paper for explorers. It was answered by a women's adventure club! Twelve ladies descended  through the tiny (really, really tiny) opening into the dark depths. They would have had only lanterns, and it must have been scary but oh so thrilling to wander through such an alien place. I'm curious how the full dresses fit into this equation however. It seems likely the adventurous women went adventurously without petticoats. Or even in bloomers! What happens in the belly of the world, I imagine, has unusually good odds of staying there.

This fact, unfortunately, led to some racist groups meeting here, but also to concerts, weddings, dancing, and the aforementioned speakeasy. During the great depression mushrooms were even farmed in the cave!

Wouldn't a speakeasy in a cave like this be amazing? The entrance was still very small, the cave mostly unaltered. Revelers would have had to shimmy through cracks and climb slippery rocks, but that would only make it more exciting. And the acoustics would be stupendous! Dancing in the lantern light with the shadows of stalactites all around you is something I'd love to do now.

Seeing the wonders of this unearthly and yet so natural place was a treat even without the dancing (and I suppose without the illicit adventure.) Sigh. You really get up close to the wonders of the cave, and the tour guide is informative without being dull. They also don't mind you taking pictures, always a plus in my book. And not so common for sights in Washington state, where I'm living now. 

It was twenty-five dollars, more than I usually like to pay but definitely worth the price. It is long enough and slow enough a tour to really give you a chance to enjoy the sometimes graceful, sometimes intimidating grandeur. While the heat blazes outside the cool damp air and gentle echo of drips are all around you.  The cave stays sixty degrees all year, so it would also be a welcome respite from the endless months of winter.

The only thing I would change is not being able explore on foot. The carts pulled by a jeep do mean that people with disabilities are able to experience it. I'm sure it also meant we could traverse parts that would have been difficult or impossible otherwise.

All in all, definitely a place I would recommend if you want to see something really different!

P.S. I was really really excited to see a cave like this. As you can see by the fact I am smiling at the camera and not looking nervous about my baby (camera)  being in frail, frail human hands which are not my own. 

Golden Green May

Last week I took a trip to Springfield, Missouri! My youngest brother was graduating from college, and afterward there was a chance to visit friends I haven't seen in nearly a decade. I've lived there for a few years previously, and the chance to see an old place with new eyes and in new times is exiting.

Its feels like an eternity since I've really traveled! There have been cool weekend trips with my boyfriend or with family, and those are great memories. But there is something about the feeling of the plane going from rough tarmac to weightless flight that is so exhilarating. I never do get over it. People once went their entire lives without seeing the world from this height, at this speed, or across these distances.

Leaving Seattle the view is spectacular, lush evergreens make a carpet topped by icy mountains and cut by the silver gleam of Puget Sound. The hunkering Cascade ridges grow larger as you move east and suddenly become the golden miles and jewel like rivers of eastern Washington. For a while we are buried in clouds and I in a book, then the worlds fastest layover (luckily within sight of the first plane). At last we descend toward Branson, a world equally green but with smooth expanses of  leaves swirled like milk in coffee with turquoise rivers.

The Branson airport is..unique. But it has a lot of character, if only with two carriers currently. And is the cheapest way to fly close to Springfield as far as I've found. The lack of crowds and confusion is a really pleasant surprise. The Employee lounge cutely labeled saloon is slightly alarming, though they conduct security like the pentagon.

After a long and winding road we finally reach Springfield. Check in at the Route 66 Rail Haven hotel and get ready for the next days travels. Which include the depths of the earth... 

Check back later for more Midwestern adventures!