Incredible Yard Sale Find ~ Vintage Wooden Skis with Bamboo Poles

I never thought I would be looking at snow skis this time of the year, but yesterday I was in Pennsylvania with my sister Kim and we decided to hit a few of the areas yard sales. The kids were with us...each child armed with 5 one dollar bills which provided a couple of smiles along with more than enough cash to buy a few fun things. 

Anyhow we were using the local paper and Kim's GPS to find various yard and garage sales in Bucks county, and at one point Kim led us to this private driveway which appeared almost to be more like a small thruway. I swear the driveway was an easy 1/2 mile long on about a 70 degree incline. We climbed the hill and parked at a designated parking area. Now this was actually a private residence...but oh my was it one amazing spot. 

(With the owner's permission I snapped these next few pics of her property)

We immediately began to check out all of the goods for sale which ranged from antique yard decor to your more typical yard sale finds. BUT...and a big one at that...there was one item which caught my eye and my imagination. There, in front of the main garage, was this beautiful vintage set of skis and poles.

The kids had already milled around and found several items to contemplate buying, however for me, well this set of skis and poles had at the moment my undivided attention!

 Leather wrist straps on bamboo poles, over six foot log solid wood skis complete with leather bindings.

 As you can see, the set has been embellished with greens, pine cones and what appears to be a red scarf (cool idea) to give it a wintry feel. Also included was this vintage postcard which is mounted to a small piece of particle board.

Courtesy of the New England Ski Museum. 

OK so are you chomping at the bit yet to know what I shelled out for this incredible ensemble??? Hold onto your keyboards ladies and you few gents who may have hopped onto this post by virtue of pure intrigue. Not $100 or even $50, which is what I thought they would go for...but a mere $15!  US dollars that is!!

As you can see the manufacturer's emblem is almost all but gone. What remains is the shape of a red teardrop and the last letter of the ski's brand looks to be the letter "R". Not much to go on but I would love to find out about the true history of these skis. I figure they must be at least somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 years old. 

Anyone out there know anything about vintage wooden skis?

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing Spring Sunday

XO

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Simplistic Spring Mantel Display

For my mantel display this spring I wanted to keep things simple. I decided to let the flowers be the focal point. The greenery and pink tulips look so fresh against the white back drop of the mirror and mantel wood.

We've have been have some really gorgeous April weather in our neck of the woods...a little cool but beautiful non-the-less.

Happy Spring!

XO

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A Stroll thru Life

StoneGable

Greece 2002

In May of 2002 my new fiance, Mr. Rosemary Lane, and myself  traveled to England and Greece. We spent 3 days in the Queen mum's dominion and then flew from London into Athens Greece.

On our way to Athens we flew over the Swiss alps. We were so close to the snow caps that I honestly felt like I could reach down and touch them.

 Temple of Athena Nike

Of course we had to see the architecture of the Athenian Acropolis. I had just finished a philosophy class at the college where I obtained my nursing diploma earlier that month, and of course what is a philosophy course without discussing Socrates. So for me it was really cool to be able to walk on the same ground that Socrates may have trodden. 

Excavation is still going on in the ruins of the Acropolis.

Restoration of some of the Acropolis architecture.

The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus

Ancient Agora the center of political and public life for the ancient Greeks..

           Byzantine Church

Our favorite spot that we enjoyed a lot was a region in Athens called Plaka. This is a small historical neighborhood of neoclassical architecture and is situated right below the Acropolis. If you walk down the cobbled streets in this quaint section of Athens; you can hear music and laughter, the sound of classes clinking and the smell of extraordinary foods being prepared! And oh the food in Greece is something truly special!

From Athens we took a ferry down to the isle of Santorini.

The Greek Isles have to be one of the most beautiful places in the world and Santorini was probably our favorite spot we visited during our travels through Greece. Santorini is actually the caldera of a still active volcano with the last small eruption occurring in 1950, and, as you can see many of the homes are situated on the collar of the caldera. 

Once we arrived in Santorini, we were immediately greeted by an on slot of Santorinians offering potential villas for accommodations. When our decision was made as to where to stay there was a slew of taxis waiting to zip us off to your new Grecian abode. We loved our villa and Santorini so much we extended our stay there by 2 days.

The next photo reminds me of the old "Parliament" cigarette magazine adds of the late 60's -70's. Yes that is me the little figure in the lower left corner of the pic. 

(I told Mr. RL that this was the perfect distance for him to always photograph me! Don't I look just stunning?)

The town of Oia is situated at the northwestern most point of Santorini and its sunsets are said to be the most beautiful in the world. Hoards of people flock there every evening to take in this spectacular site.

Windmills are plentiful in Santorini...this particular windmill is in Oia.

The sunset in Oia.

Our last stop on our tour of the Greek Isles was the island of Naxos. We weren't planning to visit Naxos but we were convinced to go there by our first taxi driver in Athens.

   Apollo's Temple Entrance (Portara)

Somehow my photograph of Apollo's temple entrance or Portara was whited out, so I borrowed this pic from good ole' Wikipedia.

The Portara is the entrance to an unfinished temple that faces directly towards the birthplace of the Greek God Apollo, the god of prophecy, music and healing.

I loved the beautiful floral lined stone walkways in Naxos. 

The Potara was lit up in the evening to the point that it glowed in the night sky!

Unfortunately we were only in Naxos for two days and poor Mr. RL ended up with some weird GI bug which pretty much took us out of commission during our time there, but all in all we loved our trip to Athens, Santorini and Naxos Greece. I would love to do a return visit sometime in the future and possibly see Hydra, another of the Greek isles.

XO

As I mentioned earlier the food in Greece was fabulous. Here at 21 Rosemary Lane I have posted a couple of my all time favorite dishes.

Yogurt Topped Moussaka

Spanikopita or Spinach Pie

On my other blog TheBigGiantFoodBasket, I have a couple more Greek dishes.

Souzoukakia - Greek Meatballs

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Hummus

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Yogurt Topped Moussaka

I started making this dish long before I ever went to Greece and it is honestly one of my favorite recipes. Moussaka is claimed by the Greeks as their dish, but the Turks were the ones who adopted it and spread it throughout the Islamic world.

This moussaka is made with the ground meat of your choice (I used turkey) and a yogurt and egg topping which replaces the white sauce of the more traditional moussaka recipe.

I did try moussaka while I was in Santorini and the version I had there was a little thicker and sweeter than this one. I think it may have been sweeter because cinnamon was the spice used instead of the nutmeg as in my dish.

This recipe is executed in stages so make sure you read through the entire recipe before tackling it.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants sliced thin

olive oil for sauteing

*1 1/2 lb ground meat

3 large onions sliced thin

3 large garlic cloves chopped

3 T Italian parsley chopped

1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 eggs

2 c. plain yogurt

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

2 T lemon juice

pinch of nutmeg

S & P to taste

Place sliced eggplant in to a colander and sprinkle with salt, set aside and prepare the meat.

In a large skillet heat 2 T. of olive oil and saute the ground meat until cooked through. Remove the meat and add a little more olive oil and the onions to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes, then go ahead and add the garlic and the parsley and cook for one more minute. Add the meat back to the pan along with the tomatoes and the paste. Blend everything together and let simmer while you begin to prepare the eggplant.

In another skillet add olive to cover the bottom of the pan and heat. Once oil begins to heat add the sliced eggplant. Be careful that the oil is not too hot or it will spatter when you add the cooler eggplant. Cook eggplant until it begins to brown...you will be doing this in several batches adding more olive oil as you go along. Let eggplant drain on paper towel.

OR 

you can use this lower calorie option to prepare the eggplant...

Place eggplant on jelly roll sheet coated with olive oil flavored cooking spray.  Spry eggplant as well and then place in broiler. Keep a close eye on the eggplant and watch for it to turn a golden brown, and then flip the slices to broil the other side. Remove from pan and let cool.

Once the eggplant is drained, layer the bottom of an 8 x 13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, with 1/3 of the eggplant. On top of that add 1/2 of the meat mixture, then add another 1/3 of the eggplant, top with the other half of the meat mixture, and then top off with the last third of the eggplant.

In bowl, whisk together the eggs and add yogurt, whisk again. Then add the Parmesan  lemon juice, nutmeg and salt and pepper and whisk until blended. Top off the eggplant with the yogurt mixture and then sprinkle a little more Parmesan cheese on top.

Place in oven set at 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. the dish will be bubbling upon removal from the oven. Let set for ten minutes and then cut and serve. 

*You can also make this into a vegetarian dish by omitting the meat and adding layers of sauteed mushrooms or zucchini,  spinach and possibly slices of Gruyere cheese.

Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend!!!

XO

If you would like to view pictures from our Excursion to Athens, Santorini and Naxos Greece in 2002, just click on the image below

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No Minimalist Here