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Showing posts with label Ft.Lauderdale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ft.Lauderdale. Show all posts

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Stone Crabs For Andi


The pink dot on the right
 is where I come from. Boca Raton, Florida.
The pink dot on the left is where we went to.
Everglades City.
For Andi's birthday her boyfriend flew in from Sweden.
And her father, myself and some other family friends headed over to Everglades City for some stone crabs,conch fritters, soft shell crabs, and key lime pie.
This is where the stone crabs come from for the famous 
'Joe's Stone Crab' on Miami Beach!
We have to drive across the state through this.
Doesn't it look pretty from the air?
On the ground .....
But this is what it really looks like.
If you like weeds , snakes and gators.....
this is your kind of place.
Pythons and gators galore and fighting for turf.
Have you heard about all the 'loonie birds' 
that have let their pythons go free in the Everglades?
Talk about irresponsible....
Well, it is a real mess.
But this is no mess.
This is the gold of Florida.
Our state prize.
Maine has Lobster, and we have stone crabs.


Don't freak out.
But, can you tell me what this is?
I will give you a hint.....it tastes like chicken.
That's my girl!
She loves her stone crabs!!
Not the stuff that 'tastes like chicken.'
I surprised her with a birthday cake.
Okay peeps,
what do you think?
Is he cute?
They met while being counselors at summer camp last year.
They are going back again this summer.
  He is in college in Sweden, and studying law.
I like that.

*But let me get back to where we were......

FLORIDA'S LAST FRONTIER "EVERGLADES CITY and CHOKOLOSKEE, at the entrance to the Western Everglades, were two frontier outposts until 1923 when Barron Collier made Everglades City the seat of Collier County and supply depot for the construction of the Tamiami Trail. Prior to the boom, this isolated region was Florida's last outpost for fur trappers, plumage hunters, Cuban fishermen, and people with a disdain for modern civilization."


There is all kinds of history about this area. 
Great stories.
The towns people actually killed the town bully.

The people that were 'wanted by the law' could safely live here. 
It took law enforcement about 2 days to get out here.
A real city of outlaws in a lawless environment.


The man in the black and white picture....
this is a wax model of him
Note the fly swatter.
This place is uninhabitable from the spring months to fall.
There are mosquito's, nats , 'no-see-ums' (these are really bad), 
I just don't know how they did it for an entire lifetime.
I had enough of the glades in this short visit.
I love nature, but not 'Everglades' nature.
To me is it scary.
Imagine being lost out there.
*Snakes, gators, panthers, and yes, we have panthers.
We took a few last pictures and packed up and headed home.
Hope you enjoyed our day trip.

Would you 
drive through the everglades for stone crabs ?


Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....
Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, 
TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A., Stone crabs, everglades city
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Friday, January 29, 2010

How 'Green' Can I Be?.


I saw this galvanized sink
in a post on Millie's Blog,
'The Laurel Hedge' last night.
I really, really like the look. I have always been drawn to industrial touches.
In addition, the sink made me think of
a time when I was a wee little kid
still living in Texas at my grandmother's house.
She had a washtub or a rotating washing machine
Out in the shed in the backyard.

The thing I remember is being fascinated by 
' THE WRINGER'.
Those 2 rubber rolls that you put the fabric into.
You would then crank the handle and the fabric would come out the other side completely squeezed out.
So wrung out that it was amazing to me.
Sort of like magic to a little kid.
But I remember the warning.......
don't get your fingers caught in the wringer.
OUCH....
hence the saying;
'He's been through the wringer!'
I think I did something just like this .....


1907 - 1920 
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
Doesn't she just look glamorous with her modern machine ?

The Wringer
You can buy a new wringer here.
And strap it onto your fabulous new tub.

Here are some alternatives to the shiny silver sinks.


I think these are so adorable. There are a 'bazzillion' designs.
Check it out.

Are you ready to go green again?
Things were uncomplicated.

I wondered when I would see this in movies.
How did they ever do this????
It looked to me that they were clothes lines on pulleys.
What do you think?
Were they?

I think a cute new tub hooked up like the first image, 
with a brand new wringer would be great for hand washed items.
...But the whole load?
How far are you willing to go to be 'green.'
All I can handle is a bit of hand wash.

Many of the images in the post were from people's sites who want to live 'off the grid.'
The term off-the-grid (OTG) or off-grid 
refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
I am perfectly happy 
living 'on the grid.'


Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....
Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A.,Clothes Wringers, galvanized tubs
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Friday, January 22, 2010

I always wanted to know more......

So here is some info for you and me.

"1708 When the white gold was born
In 1708, Johann Friedrich Böttger and his team discovered the secret of the porcelain production, arcanum. Since that time Dresden is known as the cradle of the white gold, which brought wealth and glory for Saxony."

"1872 The foundation of the „Saxon porcelain manufactory of Carl Thieme zu Potschappel-Dresden“
In the 19th century, there were many porcelain painters in Saxony who did their job at home and brought many new impulses to the traditional porcelain art. They creatively decorated white porcelain bought somewhere else. One of them, Carl Thieme, decided to manufacture his own white pieces. For this reason, he founded the today’s Saxon Porcelain Manufactory in Potschappel in the year 1872. On September 17th 1872 he began with the production of decorative porcelain and man-made porcelain. A broken wall bracket was registered as very first model."


"1888 The death of Carl Thieme
One of Thiemes best employees was Karl August Kuntzsch, a talented flower modeller and later his son-in-law and business partner. He founded the big tradition of opulent flower covering which is still very characteristic for Dresden Porcelain. After the death of Thieme he proved himself as a far-sighted entrepreneur who continued the business successfully and introduced Dresden Porcelain to the international markets.
Around 1900 the triumphal course around the world
Kuntzsch travelled to the United States, organised the export throughout Europe and won international awards and medals for example at the international industrial exhibition in Brussels 1897, at the World exposition in Paris in 1900, and various art exhibitions. He made the Dresden Porcelain world-famous."

"1901/02 Registered Trademark
There were different trademarks for Dresden Porcelain in the past. Since 1901, the blue "SP Dresden" (for Saxonian Porcelain Factory Dresden) is a protected trademark guaranteeing the authenticity of Dresden Porcelain."
"Famous Exhibitions
The company often took part in industry, art, and world expositions. Numerous gold medals from Antwerp, Chicago, Paris, or Dresden document not only the high quality of the finished goods but also the significant artistic skills of the modelers, sculptors, and painters. Outlet stores were opened in the European capitals of Berlin, Stockholm, London, and Paris.

1914-1971 Difficult times for the Saxon Porcelain Manufactory
In the first world war, these stores needed to be closed for a time. To replace the missing workers, women were trained and a continuous training program was started. Once Karl August Kuntzsch died in 1920, his two sons took over direction of the company. The industrial town of Potschappel was joined together with other towns in the Plauen area to found the new city of Freital. 
Although Kuntzsch's brothers rebuilt the foreign market, the work force of the factory was reduced to not even one hundred in 1929 due to the impending economic crisis. Reduced working hours became the norm. Enamel plates and key fobs were even produced just to keep the painters employed. When the British court ordered a multi-figured coronation set, crockery, vases, and lamps in 1936, the foreign contacts paid for themselves once again.
Starting in 1936, no gold was allowed to be used on the edges of cups, bowls, boxes, or vases. An inconspicuous gold-brown color was used as a substitute. Luckily, the factory remained untroubled by the Second World War.
After 1945, Emil Alfred Kuntzsch slowly started up production again. Since he didn't want to hand the family business over the the state, he was charged with criminal economic activities under false pretenses and, in 1950, lost control of the factory. The factory was held in trust but slowly transformed into a public work by 1971.

1972-1990 The lost brand
In 1972 the manufactory was transformed completly into a public work. The factory was focused exclusively on exporting their goods at low prices to obtain foreign currencies. This brought a number of orders to the factory. In order to double production capacity, three modern kilns were imported between 1978 and 1980, and up to 1990, between 160 to 180 workers were employed. At the same time, however, the building fell into disrepair.

Reprivatization
After reunification, the factory faced a problem it had never faced before. The company, whose products sold without a problem last year, was now facing foreclosure. As a result, many employees were laid off so that the workforce was reduced by 75%.
For the reprivitization, the factory allowed a French banking consortium to act as a trust. After they went bankrupt, they were bought out by a West German group of companies.

Optimism
After this, two former employees again attempted to protect the company and its 33 employees from closure by putting it back on the market with new concepts. 
Since then, the quality of the finished goods in the painting and sculpting workshop has steadily improved. Form, decor, and techniques have been further developed and, in 1998, the training of specialized staff began again.
Since then, the quality of the finished goods in the painting and sculpting workshop has steadily improved. Form, decor, and techniques have been further developed and, in 1998, the training of specialized staff began again."



I think all the pieces featured in this post 
are stunning and best of all...
CLASSICS.
Now prepare yourself....when you go to the site and look around....
it is more like pieces at granny's place.
I don't really know where these gorgeous pieces are hidden, and I love them!
NOT SO MUCH the granny stuff.

Do you like this Dresden Porcelain?
Did you know 
the info about the white gold ?

To Shop go here.  or just go to the site if you want to know more.
It is a great site.
Other credits are from A.D.

And if you are reading this and it is 
Saturday or Sunday....think of me. 
Please send me good thoughts, for I will be in 
'Retail Hell'.


Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A., Dresden Porcelain, white gold
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Kenny Rankin Dead At 69





OBITUARIES.....

I never thought about them really.
I have been listening to Kenny Rankin all of my life. 
Seriously. 
All of my life, starting at 16 years old.
If you haven't heard his music, or even heard of him as an artist I have included just 3 of my favorite songs of his.
It never crossed my mind that he would die someday. 
I have seen him in small concerts, and you really end up staring at your friends, 
(who love him as well) 
and cocking your heads saying; "is that really his voice ?" 
"it can't be that perfect and beautiful
" can it ?"
I was surfing around trying to find a music widget for my blog.
I wanted to load Kenny Rankin. 
So I googled him and this is what I found. I had no idea that he had died.
I was shocked.
Shocked enough to blog about it, and share him with you. 
Oh how I loved his voice first, and the man later.
When he was young, he was pretty cute. 
Do you agree ?


*This is taken from The La Times
Kenny Rankin dies at 69; 
singer-songwriter's long career almost defied categorization


"A well-regarded guitarist, he wrote the hit song 'Peaceful' for Helen Reddy and played in Bob Dylan's backup band on the influential 1965 album 'Bringing It All Back Home.'
June 09, 2009|Jon Thurber


His career, which spanned more than five decades, almost defied categorization. A well-regarded guitarist, he played in Bob Dylan's backup band on the influential 1965 album "Bringing It All Back Home." He also spent several years on the road opening for comedian George Carlin.


Rankin appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson more than 25 times. Carson was such a fan that he wrote the liner notes for Rankin's 1967 debut LP, "Mind Dusters."


As a singer with a velveteen tenor voice, he had highly successful covers of the Beatles' "Blackbird" and "Penny Lane" in the mid-1970s and in 1976 recorded an LP of standards, "The Kenny Rankin Album," with a large orchestra conducted by Don Costa." (Don Costa used to work with Sinatra)


"In a review of a 2000 Rankin performance at a San Fernando Valley jazz club, critic Don Heckman wrote in The Times: "Rankin has been -- for a decade or more -- a singer whose unusual improvisational skills and innate capacity to deliver a melody with a strong sense of swing stamp him as a consistently appealing jazz artist."


In addition to Reddy's version of "Peaceful," jazz singers Carmen McRae and Mel Torme recorded versions of Rankin's and Ruth Batchelor's "Haven't We Met."


Rankin was born Feb. 10, 1940, and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City. He was signed to Decca Records as a teenager and released a few singles. He later signed with Columbia Records.


One of his major influences was Laura Nyro, the late songwriter who wrote "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Stoned Soul Picnic," whom he met in Greenwich Village in 1960.


"She profoundly changed my musical life and affected it to this day, more than anyone or anything else," Rankin told the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto in 2007. "She was deep, dark and light, the spectrum of passion."


His peak recording years were in the 1970s, when he released the LPs "Silver Morning," "Inside" and "The Kenny Rankin Album."


Paul McCartney was so pleased with Rankin's covers of the Beatles hits, he asked him to sing a medley of them when McCartney was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987.
Rankin is survived by his son, Chris; daughters Gena and Chanda; and a granddaughter.
A memorial service is being planned in Los Angeles."
jon.thurber@latimes.com
download his songs here
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtist?id=141142

I have loved this song forever.

This is the absolute most fabulous song ever. I love love love love it.

You really need to own this one album.
Do You Like His Music ?
Do You Like His Voice ?
You can tell me. Really.


Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....
Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, 
TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A.,OBITUARIES, Kenny Rankin
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About Renée Finberg

I have been in this business since the age of 22.

I love what I do and cannot imagine my life without Design.

Design Challenges are great.

And because of those challenges

I have imported fine antique pieces from Paris,

Designed and Manufactured Furniture,

Created Fantastic Window Treatments,

And solved all kinds of spatial & architectural issues

With my unique style.

If I can't find it, I create it.

My rooms would make excellent movie sets.

I am a visual, tactile and audio sensitive individual.

Creating is what I live for, not math, not spelling, not science.

Just Great Design.

Just imagine how it would be if each of us,

If only for a few hours of everyday,We could be in a space that is our very own.A place that is exactly the way we want it to be

Surrounded by all the things we wanted to see,

The atmosphere we wanted feel, smell and the sound we wanted to listen to.

Private Paradise

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Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her Adventures in Design by Renee Finberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.reneefinberg.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at reneefinberg@gmail.ocm.

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