Vintage Blow Molds

Give things 70 years and suddenly they're cool again! Blow molds are no exception. You may have seen them at yard sales or vintage stores, or even new. But first, what exactly is a blow mold?

According to Wikipedia, it's described as a manufacturing process for forming hollow plastic parts. And apparently there are three ways of making blow molds. The original process was made in the late 1930's and was a spinoff of the glass blowing process, but for plastic. Decorative blow molds most always have a space for a small light bulb inside so they illuminate the plastic and their glow can be seen from a distance, but not always. A classic example of a blow mold are those plastic orange jack-o-lanterns with the black handles that kids carry around to collect candy on halloween.

I think that the reason they're so popular is that they remind us of our childhood, and perhaps a simpler time. Another appealing aspect is that they look great both during the day and at night.

My earliest memory of blow molds are the Christmas candles that were about 3 feet tall and had the word "NOEL" written on them in yellow or white letters. I loved those! People who had two of them framing their front door were the very classy in my 8-year-old mind. The vintage ones from the 50's and 60's are plentiful on places like Facebook Marketplace, but they can be kind of pricey. The really good news is that they're still available today as brand new items, and I think they may be safer with their new wiring and plugs. I just found these on Walmart's website:

I'd pick up some for my own house, but I try to limit my outdoor Christmas decorations, and my manger scene is the centerpiece with just a few white lights. More about that at Christmas.

But my really big (in more ways than one) purchase this year was my jack-o-lantern blow mold pictured above. I've wanted one of these for a long time and almost bought one brand new at K-Mart a few years back. I didn't purchase it when I saw it (big mistake) and when I went back they were sold out. They never got them in after that and soon the store closed for good. When I saw this blow mold on Facebook Marketplace this year for $35.00 I scooped him up right away. He's much bigger than the one I almost purchased, and the cool thing in that he too came from K-Mart. The one I was looking at about 10 years ago sold for $30.00 and his sticker says $14.99, so I'm thinking he's about 25 years old. His plug does look a little old, so I'm going to just have him out for one night and keep a close eye on him. But I'm so excited to have him visit our trick-or-treaters this year!

Some people confuse modern day shaped holiday decorations with blow molds. They may be made in a similar way, but the vintage (and new) true blow molds have a thin wall about 1/16 of an inch thick. They're not the thick pumpkins that you see at the craft stores today. And they're not the inflatables that are popular today either. Both of those are cute, but there's just something about a true blow mold that makes me quite nostalgic.

The Historic Smallwood Store

I love historic things that accurately take me back to the past. It's a pleasure to know how people lived and shopped over 100 years ago, especially in rural places. Ted Smallwood's store, which is now a museum, is a perfectly preserved testament to the people of south Florida in the early 1900's.

There are quite a few stairs to get in because being built on stilts
was the only protection from hurricanes they had back then.

The most difficult thing about visiting the Smallwood Store is it's location. I was born in and spent most of my life in Florida and didn't get here until my 59th year. It's very remote, but I think that really adds to the interest. It's hard to imagine people living in this area even now. As of 2020, only 1,136 people lived in Chokoloskee, the town where the store is. But over 100 years ago it seems almost impossible impossible to have carved out a living here. But they did. And the stories we heard on the video in the back of the store showed a rich and vibrant area bursting with adventure and a sense of community. 

This is one of my favorite images from the store. Because I love textiles,
I like to think of the women who frequented the store in search of thread, fabric
and notions. It's a hobby for us today, but back then sewing was a necessity.

My sweet hubby, Clark, getting an old-fashioned coke.

Smallwood Store remained open until 1982 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

An antique butter church sits on display. In the background you can see a
life-sized man sitting at a dining table. They actually ate their family meals right there.

The original sink still works, judging from the bottle of Palmolive nearby!

The back porch today looks over the water, but back in the day it
served as a dock for traders on boats.

Along with serving as a general store and post office,
Smallwood also was a trading post for furs and hides.

Below is a screenshot of Google Maps giving you it's location. If you find yourself on the west side of Florida heading over to Miami or the Keys, and if you're a fan of history, this place is a must see!

And if you do go, another great side trip is an airboat ride in the everglades. They're abundant, so much fun and so educational too.

Lastly, a picture of the plaque telling about the history of the Smallwood Store. And for more information, check out their website at smallwoodstore.com.

The Olde Spanish Sugar Mill & DeLeon Springs State Park

NOTE: You may see online that this restaurant is closed. That was true for a short while but it is now under new ownership. We visited there in January 2023 and it was open and back in business..

For decades our family has enjoyed a special place nestled in DeLeon Springs State Park, just 1.5 hours north of Walt Disney World. It’s a cozy little restaurant called The Olde Spanish Sugar Mill.

What makes it special is that you get to make your own pancakes complete with yummy mix mix-ins. Each table has a griddle in the center where everyone can reach it. You pour either regular or whole-grain pancake mix on the griddle then add mix-ins like fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate chips or granola. And not to worry if you not a pancake person, they have sandwiches, burgers and fries too.

The wait can be long, up to 3 hours for us sometimes, but usually it’s about an hour. Thankfully there’s a lot to do while you’re waiting. The grounds alone are beautiful with a canopies of Live Oaks and Azaleas. Just wandering around there is spectacular. They also have a boat ride that you can take that goes out into Spring Garden Lake. If you’re brave you can rent a kayak, but I don’t recommend it because of the alligators.

And if you’re cold-hardy, the swimming pool is a wonderful place to cool off. It’s a natural pool that’s fed directly from the spring and the water temperature runs around 68 degrees year round. It’s great especially in the summer, but it’s still way too cold for me. What I love about the pool is that it’s separate from the lake, so no alligators there!

They also have a hiking trail, gift shop, and a side food window where you can get a snack if the wait time is too long. And my favorite thing while waiting is looking at the old sugar mill machinery which dates back to the mid 1800’s.

If you’re ever visiting the central Florida area and love historic things, this is one place you won’t want to miss. It’s a step back in time away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and beaches. And make sure you come hungry because the pancakes are all you can eat!

Hand Carved Wooden Goose

When I first walked in the rec center of the senior living facility, this goose screamed at me. I knew he was different from 20 feet away. I asked to see him immediately and told his owner that yes, I would give her the $30.00 she wanted for him.

He was exquisite in so many ways. First, he was real wood; so heavy that he had holes drilled underneath him to keep the weight down. Second, as a testament to his hand-carved nature, his head was removable. It could be taken off and moved in any of four positions, as the base of the head was carved in a square.

Here are the holes drilled in the bottom to remove some of the weight.

My mom and cohort in antique shopping thought I was crazy. She didn’t see his beauty. He did need a little sprucing up. 

Once home, I gave him a slight dusting of new paint and accentuated his eyes and bill with a little colorI played around with placing him in just the right spot in my house, and truthfully he just didn’t seem at home. Perhaps he was too large for my small place.

So, just for the time being, I stuck him in our antique booth. Beforehand I researched carved ducks and geese on Etsy and Ebay. I really go a deal! Some similar to mine were going for 200-300 dollars. On a whim, and because he didn’t quite fit in my home, priced him at $150.00. I really didn’t think he would sell. Our shop isn’t heavily trafficked. And we’re not in the ritzy part of town. In my mind I was just storing him there until I found the right spot for him at home. 

Two weeks later he sold at full price! I should have been happy with my find and profits, but I wasn’t. I was sad and missed him instantly. I still do. But that’s part of the business. Our original shop owner told me once to never get attached to anything. It’s just stuff passing through our hands. 

My only consolation in all this is that the woman who bought him is very happy. In fact, she saw him in our booth on Facebook and sent her daughter down to put him on layaway right away. I hoped they would change their minds, but alas, they didn’t. He went to his happy new home. 

The picture on the left shows how his head could be moved into four different positions so he could look any of four ways. 

The picture on the bottom shows the hand-carved detail in his feathers. When I painted him, I painted that a little darker and then lightly brushed over the feathers with a topcoat so that the detail would show.

I doubt I'll ever find something like this again. But from now on I’m a little more cautious about selling things. Yes, I do have a small house, so I need to be careful what I fall in love with, but when I do find that perfect item, I’ll think twice before selling.  

Visiting the UF Bat Houses in Gainesville

Here they come!

Some may disagree that visiting a site where thousands of bats emerge from their homes every night and take to the skies is not exactly a "quaint" travel. But I love bats (like, in the sky and in their natural habitat, not in my house). And going to see the bat houses in Gainesville, Florida has long been on my bucket list.

Located on the campus of the University of Florida, the bats come out each night at dusk. That has always been somewhat difficult for me because they are about three hours north of me, and dusk, especially in the summer when they are most active, would put me home at almost midnight.

Here's a view of the bats emerging. It can seem scary, but they didn't fly at the spectators at all. They swoop around looking for mosquitos and other bugs to eat.

Well recently we finally had the opportunity, while on an anniversary getaway, to spend the night near the bat houses. I thought there would be a few people there, but when we pulled up there were hundreds! Apparently I'm not the only one who likes to see bats fly around at night.

It's a family-friendly event with tons of kids. They loved it!

I first got interested in bats at a nature show at a county park years ago. Different booths were set up showcasing things like trees, rivers, etc. One girl had a "bat booth." I waited patiently as she spoke with another person because I thought she may have a bat to show us. I wasn't disappointed! She had a small bat that was injured and she was nursing back to health. We got to gently pet it. It was so cool!

Years later there were bats in the attic when we stayed at a lake cabin in Shohola, Pennsylvania too. I continued to be fascinated by them. There weren't a lot of them, maybe twelve. But watching them at dusk while we sat around the firepit was such a treat.

Recently I even realized that we have a bat or two in our neighborhood. While walking the dog at night I noticed something flying around. I would have taken it for a bird except that it flew in such an erratic manner. From seeing bats in the past, I realized that they were indeed bats in my front yard!

It's fun to see and identify them, but never ever touch a bat for any reason. They can carry diseases that can make you sick or even kill you. But having said that, for the most part, they're harmless when watched from a distance.

To find bats, look around outside your home at dusk. Stand for a few minutes and look up. You may see something flying around that can easily be mistaken for a bird. Often times, it's a bat. And Halloween may be just the time to do that!

Pumpkin Pudding Recipe

When my son was young and my daughter not even born yet, I worked part time at a daycare center. It was a wonderful place that provided so much for the kids. At the time, they even had a cook on staff (think peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish crackers) that provided breakfast, lunches and snacks for the kids. One autumn day the cook got creative and make Pumpkin Pudding for the kids. I loved it so much that I saved the recipe for all these years.

The recipe on the right is my original recipe from 24 years ago, but it's NOT the one that I'm making now. How she put an uncooked egg in the mixture is beyond me. That sounds dangerous to the kids, but I'm not an egg person. The only place I want to see an egg is baked in a cake. So I tweaked this recipe and came up with my own version. It's so delicious, and made with milk and pumpkin, it's has some good nutritional benefits too. I think that fresh milk is better for everyone than evaporated milk, especially kids. It gives the pudding a really fresh taste.

Below are some sweet memories of me with my daycare class. I'm sitting on the floor on the bottom left and my little guy, who's now almost 26, is on the front row in a striped shirt. It's amazing how quickly time goes by!

And finally, the recipe:

Halloween Cozy Mystery Review

One thing I love is getting into the spirit of the season by including some seasonal reading. Now truth be told, I'm not a fast reader, and I'd rather be crafting than reading most of the time, so I like books that are short and sweet but still deliver a perfect holiday feel-and Halloween at Pumpkin Hill by Thea Cambert was just that book!

I was attracted to the series (this is book 7 of 8 in the Inn Vermont Cozy Mysteries) because they are set in Vermont. I'm totally captivated by New England, but with the Green Mountain State in particular. The peaceful setting, quaint charm and beautiful changing seasons make it one of my favorite places. So when I went searching for a cozy Halloween mystery to read, this book seemed perfect.

Another feature that was perfect for me was that it's only 158 pages. Much more than that and I'm reading Halloween books at Christmas.

But despite it's smaller size, this story really packed a punch when it came to transporting me to the small town of Williamsbridge, Vermont. The sights, sounds and tastes were all there. As I followed Eloise and Matthew around town, I could almost feel the cool air circling around me. And Thea has a wonderful conversational style of writing that makes you feel like you're hearing this story from a friend.

As for the mystery, it too was perfect. There were a handful of viable suspects and you didn't know who did it until right up until the end. The close of each chapter made me want to keep reading the next.

Meeting Eloise and Matthew seemed very real too. They're a sweet couple and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better in other books. In fact, I liked this book so much that I just ordered the first book in the series too. It seems that the series starts with and ends with a Christmas mystery, so it's a perfect time to jump in and read the rest of the books in this series throughout this upcoming year.

The book includes a recipe for June's Apple Dumplings, which sounds delicious. But what is making my mouth water is right at the end of the book when Matthew mentions Pumpkin Pie Spice Balls. Yum! And now I'm on a mission to find (or create) a recipe for those.

I wasn't paid to do this review and paid full price for this paperback copy at Amazon, and it's really worth it. At $6.99 I think the price is really reasonable. The covers of the set are beautiful and it makes a great collection to keep or pass on to a friend. It's also available in the Kindle edition for $3.99 and if you have Amazon Kindle Unlimited, it's free! So if you're looking for some great cozy mysteries, be sure to check out this series. You'll be glad you did!

My thanks go out to Summer Prescott, the publisher, for allowing me to photograph the book to go along with my review. I'm looking forward to spending more time checking out all the great titles on her website, www.summerprescottbooks.com.

Now I've got to run, because my craving for Pumpkin Pie Spice Balls is beckoning me to the kitchen!