Cheap Dork

(photo by PACOBP)

I'm a dork. A cheap dork. We went to El Rastro this weekend. It's said to be Europe's largest flea market. It started in the middle ages and has over 3500 stalls.

(photo by subcomandanta)

It's open year round every Sunday morning. You can buy just about anything there. Lots of imported stuff from India & Africa. Cheaply made tourist crap-ola. Second-hand junque. The old stuff is what catches my eye.

(photo by ma vie en rouge)

Here comes the part where I'm a cheap dork. I was Specifically looking for a vintage seltzer bottle because I'd seen them there before, and I've seen them all over blogland in photos of Paris flea markets that people drool over. AND I think they look cool.

(photo from Buenos Aires San Telmo flea market by fakeamerica)

So I find a guy in one of the side plazas that is selling a bunch of old stuff. While Vino is asking him about some really old Italian daggers (expensive, but cool!) I spy a crate of 6 seltzer bottles, one of them blue with 8 sides. It looked almost exactly like this one from Ruby Lane except that the writing was in Spanish. I would post the photo, but it's copyrighted. If the link is no longer active when you read this, just know that it is VERY COOL, and originally $125, on sale for $95. Our friend who brought a camera with her had no battery left, so I don't even have proof of the one I found. None of these are even my photos that I'm posting. Loser.

So we ask the guy how much and he says 15 Euros, which is around $21. I was prepared to pay 10 Euros, but the guy wouldn't budge. So we walked away. Apparently he wasn't desperate to sell that day because he couldn't have cared less. And we kept walking. Now I'm wishing I hadn't been so cheap.

(photo by mazingerin)

We're moving back to the States for a couple of years - this week. That was my last chance for a while. One of these days I'm going to learn some type of lesson from this...

Create...Breathe

I have this friend, Miss Lynn. She is ridiculously creative. When I was home for Christmas, I told her that the world (well, me for sure) needed her to start a blog or an etsy shop or something. She said that she's not a computer person and would rather just make stuff with paper, notions & junque. But, happy day! I don't think she's started a shop, but I just found out today that she has a blog! Her blog name is Create...Breathe, which is the name of her crafty business.


She sells at craft shows and stuff like that, but not online yet (that I know of). Check out her blog and leave her a comment. She's a sweetie pie. I can't wait to see her this summer!

My Handy Man

I'm one of those girls who is lucky enough to have a multi-talented fella. It seems like he's pretty good at most of the things he tries. He cooks & cleans, makes videos, cycles, runs, trains people to do stuff, re-mixes benign music & voice-overs into cool hip-hop beats, and he can throw a pretty good punch, whether it be wii boxing or real-life martial arts. Oh, and he can break up fights in Madrid & subdue the drunken aggressor. But that's for another story.

Recently he disappeared for a few hours into the workshop to make something that would make organizing the equipment for the ministry we work with MUCH easier. He had already organized & labeled the entire equipment storage room, but still had to contend with heavy & awkwardly shaped "C-Stands". They're the things used on a video shoot that hold reflectors & pretty much else you would need to hold in one place. Using a router & some scrap wood, this is what he came up with:


He routed out the shape of the handles...


so that each stand would fit perfectly.


He also used some big nails to hang other pieces of the stands.


I, for one, think it's an ingenious solution. Before, the C-Stands lived in a corner on the floor. Difficult to get to, messy, unorganized. Now with one glance, you know how many we have, where they are, and where they go when you're finished with them.

People, you don't always need to make things difficult or expensive. He didn't go out and buy anything special for this project. Scrap wood. That's what he used. Granted, this is not a public place, so it's not painted pretty or anything, but that doesn't matter. Effective storage can be cheap or free if you use your noggin. What do you have lurking in your garage/shop that can be made or re-purposed into useful storage or organization? Be creative!

My Mom

So today is Mother's Day, and I'm a couple thousand miles away from mine. I just called her, though. I love technology!

My mom is one of the kindest people I know. She has a very tender heart. She is one of the few people I know who has seen a lot of the heartache in the world yet has not lost her innocence.

I love spending a day with my mom tooling around town. Neither one of us get bored with each other.


She also has a lot of "mom-isms" that my sister & I regularly find coming out of our own mouths. She has a song for everything. Vino says that I do, too. Must have picked that up from her. :) She will talk to anyone in line at the grocery store. It used to embarrass me, but I've grown out of that.

I have such good childhood memories, and most of them are because of her. I couldn't have picked a better mom for myself.


I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Thriftin' Spanish Style

Ok. I can breathe.

I've been gone from this blog for ALMOST a month! We've had one thing after another, including two out-of-country trips, and I can finally get caught up - clean my house, organize, catch up on blogging.

So to celebrate my return to the blog, I'm participating in another Thrift Store Thursday over at Holly's Homebody blog! I'm glad I'm not the only one who takes pride in a great bargain. "You like this dress? Thanks! I got it for only $3 at a consignment store!" I have no shame. And I'm ok with it.



I've been wanting to show what I got the last time I went to Segundo Manos, my favorite store in our town. Of course, I didn't take my camera with me. One of these days I'll learn. But until then...


I found some painted ceramic pieces that I really like. They are simple, and one of the bowls has some chippy bits on the rim, but I still think they are charming.


I don't know if they are old or not. I can buy stuff similar to this in cities known for their ceramics - Toledo, Sevilla, Talavera - but these were much cheaper. :) It doesn't really matter to me if they are old or not. I just liked them.


I also picked up a small pitcher that was on the same shelf.


It will make a great water pitcher, and will look fabulous with my Fiestaware. This one is for sure from Toledo.


And here they all are on our kitchen table.

They go nicely with the little crackled pot that holds the miniature rose plant Vino bought for me, and with our Christmas tree. That's it in the white pot behind the walnuts. It didn't hold garland well, but we were in the States for Christmas, so I didn't go all out. The one gift I put "under" it was bigger than the tree.

So that's it! 2 Euros for two bowls and 2 Euros for the pitcher. Have you found any thrifty treasures lately? If so, you really should participate in Holly's party. All the cool kids are.

...And every knee to Him shall bow

Maker of the universe,
As Man for man was made a curse.

The claims of Law which He had made,
Unto the uttermost He paid.

His holy fingers made the bough,
Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow.

The nails that pierced His hands were mined
In secret places He designed.

He made the forest whence there sprung
The tree on which His body hung.

He died upon a cross of wood,
Yet made the hill on which it stood.

The sky that darkened o'er His head,
By Him above the earth was spread.

The sun that hid from Him it's face
By His decree was poised in space.

The spear which spilled His precious blood
Was tempered in the fires of God.

The grave in which His form was laid
Was hewn in rocks His hands had made.

The throne on which He now appears
Was His for everlasting years.

But a new glory crowns His brow
And every knee to Him shall bow.

-F.W. Pitt

I hope you had a happy & meaningful Easter!

Back to Romania: Tour of a Wooden Church in Bradet

It's me, Erin, the girl who used to post on this blog. I've been missing from blogtown for several days - and I have no excuse. I have been busier with work stuff and getting ready for our trip, but for some reason I just went through a short period of time where I lost interest. I'm even WAY behind on reading the blogs I subscribe to. I guess it's not a bad thing - I actually spent time away from my laptop and did human things. Like, Vino & I started the P90X workout. I INTENSELY DISLIKE IT. But I know I will be glad I did it when the 90 days are over and I'm in better health. We will be returning to the States around that time, and I am looking forward to being less...shall we say...fluffy.

Enough of that. This post is really about us being back in Romania. We're here for extended video editing training with the media students at the Bible school in Oradea. Vino is training this next week in Motion & LiveType, and I'm doing two Photoshop workshops. I'll post photos later of all that. Today I'm sharing a tour of one of the historic wooden churches that are scattered about this region of Eastern Europe.


This particular church is in Bradet, a town in a rural area south of Oradea. We visted here when we were in Romania last October. From what I've read, the wooden churches were commissioned in the 17th & 18th century by wealthy land owners and built by special church craftsmen who passed the craft on through the generations. The structures were made with no iron nails. This particular church was rebuilt in 1724 when the original was in "a state of demolition." The wooden church was rebuilt with the contributions of the parishioners. You can read more abut the wooden churches here, including the Bradet church.


Let's take a tour!


The church is on top of a hill that you have to climb to get to it. The hillside is covered in graves as the cemetery apparently was not big enough.


The original wood roof was at some point replaced with tin.


Rustic yet stunning hand carved detail. This church is known for its "torsioned rope" carved around the door.


Stepping inside, you enter the outer room. This is Ady. I introduced his family here.


This is what hangs on the wall above the entrance to the more sacred room.


The benches in the outer room have obviously seen a lot of use. I love how the rough wood is softened and polished by the touch of hands, legs & behinds over all those years. This church is still in use, as you can see by the rugs & cushions that cover the seats. This one was right inside the front door.


Walking into the inner sanctuary, it's almost overwhelming the layers & layers of color & texture. The painted wood walls, hand embroidered cloths, candelabra, chandelier, and that rug...that doesn't look quite old enough to be original.


Items on tables up front. The book was made in 1768, but we were allowed to look through it and touch the paper. I love the feel of old paper.

Painted wooden chandelier. Love the wooden chain links!


Doors that lead to a myster room...the holy of holies? I don't know enough about the Orthodox church to know what everything is for.


More detail of important stuff. Some women went to a lot of work hand weaving those blankets!


This is what the seating area opposite the altar area looked like. That's Vino & our friend Estera.


The back wall behind the chairs was full of these old painted wooden crosses.


Back in the outer room, there are stairs that lead to the steeple and the bell.


I could have rung the bell - the rope was right there and no one was watching - but I didn't think that would be a good thing!


Going back outside, here's the view of the front cemetery from the doorway.


So that's the tour. I hope you liked it! I'm always fascinated by the specific architecture, painting styles, linens, etc. that represent each culture so well. I hope that more can be done to preserve the old wooden churches like this one!