California Road Trip, pt. 2: Urban Ore

Greetings, Traveler!

It's time to get back in the car at Vacaville's Rock Shop and continue driving west on Interstate 80. Notice how the flat valley browns give way to rolling hills so lush with live oak that you'll envy the grazing cattle. The air begins to cool. If you wish, you can now open your window and begin to scent the Pacific waving through the fumes of other cars' exhaust.

Just as the traffic for the Oakland/Bay Bridge split gets serious, thumb your nose at those bitter commuters and exit right at Berkley's own Ashby Ave.

Stay left on the ramp, then take a right on 9th Street, and an immediate right on Murray Street. (trust me, you won't have time to get lost). You'll see Urban Ore, or "the Ecopark" (it ain't a park; dress defensively), on your left at 900 Murray St.  Park in the lot.

Urban Ore

Yes, you can buy stuff or sell stuff, or just drop it off with them.

This is a huge for-profit salvage and second-hand shop, the kind of place that San Francisco friends speak of with awe, warn me that I need at least an hour-and-a-half to visit, and insist that The Happy Badger should create an exact replica of in Westchester, New York.

I arrive with two small, instantly charmed travelers and find that it's exactly what I expected, and more... and BIGGER.

Outside, you'll find tubs in white, black, and pastels; glass windows; granite counters; roof tiles; toilets; sinks (including that chic black salon one); sliding doors; and regular doors, which you'll find in a trailer helpfully labeled "Women's Collection."

 

 You'll find some conversation starters, too, like a lonely Wurlitzer or a filthy mid-century style armchair with great bones and tiny feet.

Prices were as I'd expect from a second-hand shop. No boutique pricing, thank goodness.

Anyway, have fun outside, but go inside! The warehouse is the jewel in this Sanford and Son paradise. Shhh, don't talk. Just walk around, take it all in....

 

I walked away with SIX huge bags of film reels, fairies sitting on teacups, old comics, rhinestone earrings, and I honestly forget what else for less than $30 dollars. Thanks, Johnny, for making a sweet deal even sweeter with that dimpled grin!

And I got the organic cotton, locally made bag! Look for it at a Westchester grocery store soon.

 





The ONLY complaint? The sports section. Seriously, Urban Ore folks, I have more clubs and skis in my basement now, and I don't play golf or ski.

Urban Ore, baby--doing it right!

 

http://urbanore.com/

Hours Mon – Sat 8:30-7; Sun 10- 7Closed: Christmas Day, New Years Day, Easter, Fourth of July, ThanksgivingReceiving closes daily at 5pm (see drop off).

Address900 Murray Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 

Phone 510.841.7283

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier 

California Road Trip, pt 1: The Rock Shop in Vacaville

The Road of Life may one day take you along the wide, hot strip of Northern California highway between Sacramento and San Francisco called Interstate 80. If it does, get off that road at this spot you'll never see mentioned in a tour guide.

The Rock Shop

Officially known as Consolidated Rock & Mineral, this is by far my favorite place to take a break on the road to SF.

Heading West? Look to the right as you enter Vacaville. You're sure to see this sign.

True: it doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it's like a low-budget museum you can touch and buy!

Fossilized schools of fish line the walls of the smaller rooms.

See that cast of a dinosaur at the bottom right? It has a smaller dino in its stomach.
A fine example of instant karma for the kids!

A mammoth's jawbone from Mainz, Germany, is displayed at preschooler eye level.

Boxes and boxes of stones, fossils, geodes, minerals, meteors, and shark teeth line every table in every room.

Can you find the non-geode human in this picture?

They even have old bottles and boxes, just in case you lean heavily towards archeology rather than paleontology or geology.

And did I mention the many displays of polished gems and finished jewelry?

All opals, all the time

If you want to know more about any item (and I mean it--ANY ITEM) ask Dennis, the manager, who is at once utterly laid back and utterly excited about the wonders stored in this warehouse.

The next time you're on 80, stop. Take the kids in. Take in the kid in you. Go.

The Rock Shop
Address: 5115 Quinn Rd, Vacaville, CA 95688 (take Leisure Town Road/Vaca Valley exit off of highway 80)

Phone:(707) 448-5525

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Where To Take The Excess: Washington Irving School

Did you ever dream of running away with the circus? I did, and for a brief moment, I even believed that my grandfather had flown on the flying trapeze (I was wrong, but it's still a great story).

The thing is, your clothes--the ones that your kid outgrew, or that you know you're never going to wear again--can help a kid join the circus...the Washington Irving Circus, that is.

Turns out that 5th graders particularly like lessons on clowning. Who knew?
Photo from The Daily Voice.


This is actually what the WI cafeteria looks like after the sale. Bring your best manners and prepare to rub elbows with Rivertown deal-seekers as you find something excellent, like new children's Gymboree or an ever-stylish Eileen Fisher. Photo courtesy of The Patch.

Clear out your closets (you know you need to, and you sure don't want to leave bags of clothing on the curb--this is why), support the coolest bunch of 5th graders on the East Coast, and get yourself a cheap thrill by finding something gorgeous and New-To-You.

Please drop off your clothing donations during the week of April 21st, in the Washington Irving School front hall. The sale itself is on Saturday, April 26, from 9am-1pm.

I got my donation there early. It looks like a crime scene now, but trust me, you will want what's in this bag....

 
Long Live The WI Circus!

http://vimeo.com/65971548

Washington Irving School
103 South Broadway 
Tarrytown, NY 10591
School Hours 7:30 - 2:15
Main Office (Hours 7:30 - 3:30) 631-4442


Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Craft Binge

Mod Podge: gateway drug of Crafters.

I have been on a mad binge this week, swinging between decoupaging cigar boxes with vintage comic book pages and layering shellac on film reels of various sizes that I bought from eBay.

If I keep this up, next month I'll be huffing two-part epoxy and snorting concrete dust. Anyway, let me show off some pretties.

THE BOXES

This 1950s comic might have been worth something if it were not in shreds. As it is, I love the effect of the torn corner showing off the wooden box below.

Beware Circe!

Great effect, right? It's my favorite, but that won't stop me from trying to make you buy it.



"SELF-STYLED HERO"

Ah, Batman. This 90s comic features him kicking Hitler's behind. Classic.

80s X-Men. Relax; all of them survive...

"CALL ME MAGNETO." I keep calling him "Magenta" because of that outfit.

TURN YOUR HANDS into "EXPLOSIVE" DEFENSE MECHANISM!
Poor boys: It Gets Better

THE FILMS

They're so pretty all on their own, I sort of dread changing them.

35mm vases make the Super 8 home movies look like babies.

Do I curse the Zinsser family, or do I just buy their stock to recoup some of my costs?

35mm film audio tracks are blue-green. Beautiful.

Vintage saucer and two 35mm trailers. Pretty on the inside.

For Goodness' sake, can someone please buy these and help send my kiddos to Scandinavia this summer? I don't have storage space for all this stuff.

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Let's Play With Shellac!

Shellac: Ye olde sealer made by dissolving the "resin excretions" of this freaky bug, Kerria lacca, in ethanol.



Thanks, Wikipedia...

Has your gag reflex calmed down yet? Good, because shellac is AWESOME.

You'll find shellac at hardware stores; expect to pay between $15-$22 per quart. Standard colors for shellac are amber and clear.

Awesome Fact #1: Shellac can be tinted. Buy tubes of colorant from a store like Wallauer's (NOT Home Depot, not only because I don't like HD, but because they don't carry tints) and GO TO TOWN with luminescent color effects.

Awesome Fact #2: Shellac goes on like water, seeping into every tiny crack, nook, and cranny. Then it dries ROCK hard. (yeah, I am using a lot of caps today--I'm impressed!)

Awesome Fact #3: Shellac may be the wonder sealant that you, Crafty Reader, have been looking for.
It can make floppy 16 mm films into porcelain-hard vases, even if you bend them into cornucopias.

(Thanks to Wendy Russell, Canadian craft maven, for this idea. If you search US cable for a station called "Ion" you too can enjoy her funny, clever HGTV Canada show, "She's Crafty.")



A cornucopia of awesomeness...?

Red-tinted shellac and a bit of imagination resulted
in this rectangular bowl with a 1-inch lip. 





Thin square. That golden hue is natural to the film.

 

I need to come up with a good interior base. Naturally, I'm selling these and more: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HappyBadgerInc



 



Warning about Shellac: Be sure you want to turn something into a glassy, rock hard object before you lay on the shellac. Once you shellac, you can't go back...literally.

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

The Right Way To Re-Gift!

Spring is sneaking its toe back into the icy pool of the Northeast. I'm seeing squirrels. I'm seeing robins. I'm seeing large numbers of snow shovels in the trash.

Ah, yes, the Badger is waking from her winter hibernation and finding that cruising the neighborhoods at night has value again.

Before Springtime Clean-Up gets too out-of-hand, however, I'd like to ask you Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow folk to keep some items OUT of my grubby little paws.

Here's What:

1. Wheelchairs (and other items for the care of the elderly or injured)
2. New-With-Tag gift-type items (soaps, gift baskets, purses, glassware, etc)
3. Office Supplies (including working PCs)

Here's Why:
















Tarrytown's own Neighborhood House needs these items.

If you don't know much about Neighborhood House, you're not alone. It quietly does its good work in this unassuming little building on the corner of Wildey and Washington Avenues.

The (mostly volunteer) staff offer locals seniors and students a comfortable place to engage in a number of activities, including Girl Scout meeting, SAT study sessions, exercise programs, and art classes. They even lend out crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs, a fact I learned firsthand in 2001, when I tore a ligament in my foot and Neighborhood House lent me a perfect pair of crutches.

After dropping off these walkers last fall (which I discuss more in "Give It Away NOW"), I asked Karla, a fixture at the front desk, what they need most at Neighborhood House. She listed the three categories above.

Karla put an emphasis on Neighborhood House's need for gift-type items. So, if you are feeling the Call of the Wild and want to dump those gifty things that have been languishing in your closet, drop them at Neighborhood House.

These items will be raffled off at their Springtime "Penny Social" (a term I know only because of the Little House on the Prairie novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder). Much-needed funds will be used to sustain their regular programs for seniors.

Now, is that the right way to re-gift or what?

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

CSAs: Damn, That's My Jam!

It took local friends two years of persuasion to get us to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) called Rexcroft Farms.

Hiya! Rexcroft Farm's Farmer Dan.

I am so glad that we did, mainly because I love Rexcroft's fresh, local, organic fruit. This endless winter has made me doubly grateful for the CSA because we're still getting that taste of summer, thanks to homemade blueberry, strawberry, peach, and plum jams, which I cook and then toss into the freezer in Tupperware containers.

I know, I know: I should promote old-school techniques like canning.

For decades, my little Syrian-born mama and my finest living definition of "Hustle," has plucked fruit from her backyard trees in Sacramento--peaches, apricots, cherries, quince. And like it's no big deal, she makes a year's worth of canned jams and home-made fruit rolls. On family visits, I still load up on jams, especially quince, which is exquisite.

But it is a big deal for me to gather the necessary tools and stand, heat-rashed and cursing, over boiling pots in my 90 degree, un-air-conditioned New York kitchen. I'm thrilled to cut out one blazing hot step of canning by freezing them.

These days, I make PB&J sandwiches for myself using my jam masterpiece: Orange-Juice-Vanilla-Kentucky-Bourbon-Plum. (Yep, I made up that recipe.) And every time I eat it, I sing to myself "Two Clouds Above Nine," a great tune by 90s rave-masters Deee-Lite: "Damn, that's my jam!" 

Lady Miss Kier: Use your magic powers to Bring Back Spring!

Seriously, you should consider joining a CSA, too. True, CSA offerings are sometimes confusing. Consider Kohlrabi...



 

...spawn of a turnip and Diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element.

Freaky, yes! Happily, it's also delicious, as I discovered when I got adventuresome with Mark Bittman's genius cookbook How To Cook Everything.

That's really what CSA membership is about: showing up every week and taking a chance on real, fresh, local food. You won't regret the decision.

Check out these two very local CSA options:
1. Rexcroft Farms: Contact Barbara Carr (barbaracarr@optonline.net, or via Facebook)
2. Mobius Fields: Contact Deb Taft (deb@mobiusfields.com, or via Facebook)

It also helps to get a deep freezer for the extra corn, tomatoes, and jams. And look, you lucky Westchester folk, you can get this one FOR FREE on craigslist right now:

Or...not. Your choice.



Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier