I Do Love Antiques

I am not sure why but I have always loved antiques and I have a few pieces that I cherish. I wrote before about one such piece which I will sell due to it being too large for my condo.  That didn't stop me from buying another treasure.  This one I purchased more for practicality than anything.

My latest acquisition is a Chinese Elm wood blanket chest. It is about 150 years old so not terribly old but I like the character it has. I immediately wiped out the inside and filled it with some of my craft supplies which are overflowing in the living room.  I covered the stop with some of my African craft finds and my Aloe Vera plant which really does need to be re-potted into a larger container.

I have been wanting a Chinese antique for years.  Initially, I was thinking of an altar table to be used in my front entry.  But really I have no room in that area because it isn't a hallway and that is where I have bookshelves housing many of my books.  The altar tables don't have the kind of practicality I need since they don't have doors and drawers to hide things.  I think this piece is more suitable for my needs.

I got it for a wonderful bargain and paid almost one quarter of the original price. These days, antique shopping is a luxury for most people and the store owner is branching out in many ways to try and save her business. She can no longer afford to just sell antiques. She understood the value of off loading her inventory by giving me a fabulous deal.  It also helped that I had my eye on other pieces in a different shop and so knew my prices as well as the market right now.  Learning how to establish bottom lines and haggling in Kenyan market places has helped me here at home. At least with stores that aren't big box stores.

I'm very pleased with this piece. I see that I  need to give it a good cleaning on the outside as well but that can wait until I re-organize things a bit more.

What about you dear reader? Do you prefer antiques that have the character and vibe of days gone by or do you prefer the modern look?

Creamy and Tangy

Saturday's juice was a little creamy and a little tart.  It was made in my blender rather than in a juicer.

I wanted to make a juice featured by my friend Brenda at Hearts Touching Hearts here,  but I didn't have the ingredients on hand so I had to modify the recipe substantially. I still need to try Brenda's avocado drink. Next time I get to the produce store I will make certain to buy spinach and English cucumbers.

My juice consisted of:

- 4 stalks of kale, chopped finely
- 1 small lime. chopped fine
- a small piece of zucchini squash, chopped
- a few stalks of parsley springs, no need for chopping
- 1 small avocado, peeled, no need for chopping but discard the nut inside
- 1 half of a small banana, peeled

Throw all this into a blender along with a cup and half or two of water and some spices as you like. I used some Mexican chili powder but would have added some cayenne or garlic powder if I had some on hand. Yet another few items for my grocery list.

Blend until you can no longer see any specks of kale and drink.

I found this blend of produce made a creamy if somewhat tart and tangy juice due to the use of a whole lime. Perhaps next time I will try it with only half a lime.  My blender is just a regular household blender and I could taste little pieces of the vegetables in the mix.  This didn't bother me. It probably all works as good fiber. This is good news for my reader Kay, at an Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel, who wants to try blender juicing.

Creamy rich avocado is considered the world's healthiest fruit, because of its nutrient contents such as vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, and it has reasonable calories in it. Potassium can help you guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease, or stroke.  Avocados contain many good things for our bodies but I will end my little educational bit here and encourage you to eat an avocado now and then. It contains good fat.

Where I live avocados are quite expensive as they are imported from warmer climates. I make an effort to always have them on hand and try to eat them once or twice a week in simple salads, a sandwich and now, juice.

Not bad and I think it is probably quite healthy with avocados and kale as it's main ingredients.

What about you dear reader? Do you have avocados as a crop where you live or is it too cold?