Time for a Cocktail (and a Vintage Swizzle Stick)...

With all that’s going on with our standard poodle Bisbee, I am in need of a cocktail. Hmmm…what’s the origin of that silly word and how does it connect to the tucson cowgirl blog?

Well, let me tell you. The term cocktail is all-American, first seen in print in an 1806 colonial NY newspaper. Bartender purists today will tell you that only a small selection of mixed drinks served in low-ball (3 oz.) glasses are truly cocktails.

I want one now, served in a pretty glass goblet with swizzle stick just as my mom would do back in Brooklyn in the 1950s. I have happy memories of mom’s cocktail parties. Not that drinking was a priority…it was the party and its style that were special. My mom wore her handmade cocktail dress (pretty!)….the parties she planned with dad were fun, inexpensive ways to gather family and friends. Her favorite cocktail was a whiskey sour (served in a lowball glass goblet). Of course each drink had its own swizzle stick and was handed to guests with an interesting cloth cocktail napkin (never, never paper napkins).

With few exceptions (one being the luau hosted by friends Peggy and Mike), parties today are different, often focusing on lavish, catered spreads, disposable glasses and throw-away napkins. I’m not impressed. When I think of fun parties, I think of my mom in her beautifully sewn black cocktail dress….serving her whiskey sours to guests. I still have some of her cocktail napkins and swizzle sticks. So when I saw some interesting vintage swizzlers in Preen, I had to buy them….and pair them in this picture with one of mom’s deco cocktail napkins. Tucsonans will recognize the swizzle stick from now-closed Tack Room. May glamour and handcrafted details always prevail over plastic and disposable!

Bisbee and His Nine Lives...

Well, we've used about six lives this past week. I'm a little off topic but our adventures with Bisbee (our black standard poodle) take precedence.
Since early January, we have been helping Bisbee recuperate from surgery. (Bisbee was unlucky enough to be diagnosed with toe cancer, which unfortunately is common in black standard poodles). The operation was fairly successful, and we were trying to look ahead positively to his chances of survival, as many dogs don't see the cancer metastisizing. We were coping with all this when Bisbee threw us another curve and landed back in the hospital with pancreatitis. Then, yesterday, he showed weakness in limbs...requiring another round of tests for another problem. We'll get those test results next week.
We brought Bisbee home today, to wait for these test results. You never know....maybe the limb weakness will go away.
In the spirit of spring training (coming soon to Tucson), I'll say that life is full of curve balls. It's also full of home runs so I'll end with that and hope for the best for our Bisbee. Here he is with Leigh, can you see him in the shadows of a pretty Tucson sunset?

Vintage Postcards for Your Preening

Preen is a great shop in Downtown Tucson. It's run by two Preeners/seamstress mavens Emilie and Erin. I love the way they create a shopping boutique that mixes funky with vintage and stirrs it all into very style-forward contemporay environment.

Preen just got in a wonderful treasure box full of old postcards. I'm partial to New York architecture and nature, and found a few interesting Metro NY cards. I also picked up a beauty circa 1940s from Los Angeles.

The store is full of little gems. The ladies also have a sewing station in back for alterations. The postcards can be repurposed and used in mixed media art, or in beautiful greeting cards...or just enjoyed for their fabulous colors and designs! You should check out Preen (272 East Congress) next time you're in Downtown Tucson.

Housewarming Gift from Brooklyn

When I was packing up my New York home for our move to Tucson, I chanced upon an old box. My mom had packed it after dad died, way back when we still lived in Brooklyn, New York. The box contained some rusted tools from my dad and my grandparents. After my mom died, I kept that box in my garage, and although the tools were never used again, I would not part with the box. But now I was headed to Tucson, and I was in the midst of a sort-and-pack frenzy for our crazy move west. All this was a bit melancholy, as I still wasn't sure why I was leaving everyone and everything I loved for so many unknowns. I wished my parents were still here to encourage, even to enjoy the move with me.

Perhaps it was coincidence, but just as I sadly reached the bottom of the box, I found a very old ruler...from...guess where....Tucson. The ruler is from a Broadway Village Hardware (which doesn't exist anymore). That ruler was more than half a century old, hidden with its special message. I am imagining that my grandmother (who did beading and crocheting and seamstress work for NY Opera) might have purchased some fabric or beads from the store back in the 1940s, but I honestly don't know. Also, my dad was in the Army Air Force, and although I have no record of him coming through Tucson, he could have gotten the ruler for my grandmother on a trip through the city on his way to his assignment in the Pacific.

Somehow that ruler got in the bottom of that box. You may think I'm crazy, but I am certain my parents and grandparents meant for me to find it as I struggled with my move. This old ruler is a sign that my parents are happy I am here in Tucson. It is my priceless housewarming gift.

Japanese Fabric, Courtesy of Steve

Don't you just love a brother who takes time from his international business travels to find fabric for an obsessed sister? While in Yokohama Stephen visited Sogo. Did you know that Sogo is the largest department store in the world....and that it houses Japan's first, in-department store museum of art? Stephen found Sogo's fabric department and, yes, he acquired several meters of these pretty textiles for me. Now I eagerly await his visit to Tucson...I have plans for those fabrics! Thank you, dear bro!

Everyone Loves a Knit Washcloth...

...And I love to knit these pretty, useful cloths. Using only the softest organic cotton, I knit on autopilot, allowing my mind to relax. Soon, a sturdy square emerges, one that I can embellish, tie with vintage scrap fabric, or embroider. For a holiday gift I tried some red-white striped organic cotton for a knitted kitchen cloth. For those days you need quick and lovely projects to divert you from stresses, try knitting a washcloth for a friend (like this blue one, knit for a friend's baby)....