ARTWORK SAGA 12:

SON OF THE SUN
Santa Fe, New Mexico
2009

Sheldon ? is a favorite artist of Steve and Ray's from New Mexico. He's Navaho. He's won best artist at the Indian Market in Santa Fe for both sculpture and painting—unheard of.

At the Indian Market I discovered this marvelous sculpture.

I had to have it. It depicts one of the ancient, fantasy ancestors of the Navaho.

FAVORITE DELAWARE COAST PLACES SAGA 4:

WORLD WAR TWO TOWERS
Lewes, DE

These towers were used for observation not armaments. Several towers would triangulate on say a German submarine and send instructions to fire upon to Fort Miles.

The Fort Miles Historical Association, which is located at the State Henlopen State Park in Lewes is taking responsibility for their maintenance.

I have to give you some info. on these towers so that next time you are driving with family and friends you can explain to them their significance.

Eight of the 11 towers built along the Delaware and New Jersey coastlines during WWII are here in our beaches; 3 are in N.J.  They were used as artillery spotting locations.  Our military was posted in each of the towers to coordinate artillery fire on enemy ships off our coast.  This fortification was from 1940 to 1942 during which these huge fortifications were erected at the mouth of the Delaware Bay to protect Philadelphia.

The towers have different heights and some of them have only two viewing slits, while others have four.  Apparently, the military could see about 14 1/2 miles into the Atlantic.

From the upper level the spotters could scan the Atlantic for enemy vessels; could direct the fire of the guns mounted along the coast.

It was believed that after Pearl Harbor, the Delaware Beaches were in danger.  In 1942 the German U-boats were skinking an average of a ship per week.  The Jacob Jones was one of those ships torpedoed off the Delaware coast and over 100 of its crew perished.

ARTWORK SAGA 11:

INCA WOODEN BOX
Machu Picchu, Peru
1980

Ed and I got this 4" x 6" box while we were touring Machu Picchu.

It has a silver-edged top around a piece of ancient Inca cloth!

MONTH BREAK

MONTH RESPITE

I'm taking a break from my blog for a month. See you 12/6/2013.

CAR CRAZY SAGA 18:

MAINTENANCE II

Well, I just couldn't let it go. I decided to search salvage yards. I found on the internet a site that polled 300+ yards for a part and it only cost $6. So, I put in a search for "the clear plastic Shield that covers the instrument panel".

I got two responses. One saying that it was unavailable as a separate piece. The other said that they had a perfect condition Instrument Cluster for a 2006 Cadillac XLR for $350. I debated for a day. Then decided to do it!! I had it sent to my home and asked Lewes Auto Mall if they would install it even though they're only a Chevy dealer. They said they would.

   ---Excellent!

I'm so pleased. It looks great! Even though nobody would notice. I DO!

ARTWORK SAGA 10:

ANTELOPE JAR
Washington, D.C.
1969

This delightful 10" pot is by Adrian Saxe, a famous California artist.

ARTWORK SAGA 9:

ART GLASS BY DOMINIC LABINO
Washington, D.C.
1968-9

Two pieces from "The American Hand." A 4" vase.

Dominic Labino was one of the international leaders in the revival of art glass. His glass created a sensation.

Another 4 inch vase -iridescent:

I was lucky to acquire such very nice objects.

Yet another 4" vase:

CAR CRAZY SAGA 17:

MAINTENANCE

My Cadillac XLR has a problem that I created. I was cleaning the Steering Wheel with leather cleaner and it sprayed on the clear plastic Shield coving the instrument panel. It instantly clouded the Shield!

I tried to clean with everything I could think of. No luck. 

I went to Lewes Auto Mall, a Chevy dealer in town. They even tried a very fine polish which didn't work either. I asked if the Shield could be replaced. They said 

NO! The entire Instrument Cluster would have to be replaced as the Shield is integral. It was a chemical reaction.

When I had the annual maintenance done at Courtesy Cadillac in Salisbury, Md., they came to the same conclusion. To replace the Instrument Cluster would be $1,000. for the part and $200. for the installation!! The service manager came to talk to me. He said maybe a salvage yard could come up with the shield only—an interesting idea. 

In the pursing weeks I decided that I'd have to live with it. I didn't like it but it was just too expensive.

ARTWORK SAGA 8:

THREE CERAMICS BY BACERRA
Washington, D.C.
1967-9

My friends, Ken and Bill, started a ceramics store called "The American Hand" in Georgetown, D.C. I , in fact, designed the store. What fun!

Ralph Bacerra was one of the stars of American ceramics! He hailed from Los Angeles. I was lucky to acquire three pieces by him.

A beautiful, 19" large bowl. This is remarkable due to its incised portions and beautiful coloring. This my most valuable piece. Exacerbated by the fact that he's no longer with us.

A 8" covered pot.

Another covered pot 12".

FAVORITE DELAWARE COAST PLACES SAGA 3:

LIGHTSHIP OVERFALLS
Lewes, Delaware

Overfalls is a "lightship", meaning it was a portable lighthouse. It's a National Historic Landmark—the only one in Sussex County, Delaware.

Built in 1938, it served the East Coast for 34 years. One hundred seventeen were built. Seventeen remain extant; Seven are open to the public.

What is a lightship?

A lighthouse that floats, it serves the same function such as:

• A light to aid navigation at night
• A horn to warn mariners in fog
• A radio beacon for longer range identification

Lighting the way
The Overfalls main aid to navigation was a 375 mm dual electric lantern located 57 feet above the water line. Rated at 15,000 candle power, (approximately 1,000 watts), it flashed every 3 seconds from dusk until dawn. On a clear night it could be seen for 12 miles.

The ship also had a dual diaphone fog horn with a range of 5 miles that sounded every 30 seconds in foggy weather.

A radio beacon with a range of 25 miles transmitted the call letters of the ship (NMJF) in Morse code. In foggy weather it was synchronized with the horn and broadcast every 30 seconds.

P.S. Back in the 1950-60s, Lewes was the biggest fishing port in the country by tonnage of fish caught.

FAVORITE DELAWARE COAST PLACES SAGA 2:

FUNLAND
Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Funland has been owned by the Fasnacht family for 50 years!

click to see: FUNLAND.

When the Portuguese sailor Lorenzo Dow was shipwrecked on the shores of what is now Rehoboth Beach, he must have liked what he saw. Dow built the first residence in the area, and was followed in 1872 by the Reverend Robert W. Todd of Wilmington, who claims he envisioned the exact spot as the ideal location for his Methodist retreat camp in a dream. Todd also was influenced by his journey to another oceanside camp in New Jersey, claiming in a sermon that "...the sea hath spoken"!

Despite Rehoboth's origins as a religious retreat, Reverend Todd and his pious followers soon found themselves at odds with local "land pirates" and saloon owners, and the longstanding dynamic of the beach resort was born.

Some came seeking serenity, some for absolute pandemonium, some commune with the heavens, others commute for the happy hour! It wasn't long before the rest of the Eastern Seaboard caught on, and families have made Rehoboth Beach a perennial playground ever since.

Its famous boardwalk was built in 1873, and has weathered a slew of tropical storms and hurricanes. Thousands still make the pilgrimage to Rehoboth every year to while away the summer months in style!

When the Fasnacht family bought the amusement park "Playland" on the Rehoboth boardwalk in 1962, its hurricane ravaged facade didn't look like a great investment. But now, over 40 years later, the thriving, family run park still boasts the best entertainment on the Delaware Beach, and still charges its original 25 cent ticket price!

Four generations of the Fasnacht family operate the park, and grandparents now watch with glee as their youngsters ride the same rides that thrilled them in their youth!

ARTWORK SAGA 7:

EGYPTIAN AMULET
Rehoboth Beach, DE.
1983

This amulet was given to me by Ed. His father was in Egypt on assignment with the CIA when a friend gave him several ORIGINAL, ANCIENT pieces. They have been authenticated by a museum as during the time of the Egyptian dynasties!

The "EYE OF HORUS" is a powerful symbol of protection. This symbol was often used in jewelry to ensure the safety and health of the bearer and provide wisdom and prosperity.

The "PEACOCK" is a symbol of immortality because the ancients believed the peacock ha flesh that did not decay after death.

"HORUS" is the falcon god. It served many functions, most notably being the god of the Sky, god of War and god of Protection.

ARTWORK SAGA 6:

FIREPLACE IMPLEMENTS SCULPTURE
Rehoboth Beach, DE.
2000

I saw this sculpture as a winning entry in the Rehoboth Art League Crafts Show. I flipped over it instantly.

It stands 3 feet high and contains a brush, poker and tongs.

It just so happened it was done by an artist friend: Lee Badger!, a blacksmith from West Virginia. Later, I commissioned him to do the fireplace screen. When I moved from Rehoboth Beach to Milton I brought the sculpture with me, but I left the fireplace screen as it was a perfect fit for that opening.

MONTH BREAK

RESPITE

I'll be back 9/1/13!

ARTWORK SAGA 5:

AFGAN RUG
Florence, Italy
1982

       I bought this rug at an auction in Florence when I was living there in the summer of ’82. I stumbled across an estate sale in an old palazzo and out of curiosity went in. I was amazed at the fine articles they had. It was like going back to the 18^th Century. I was gazing around when I stumbled on a beautiful 9’ X 11’± Oriental rug in great reds and blacks 

      that would go great in my dining room at home (which was painted red but had too small a rug under the table). 

      The rug was to go to auction in two days. Well, I went every day trying to learn enough Italian to bid so I wouldn’t make a huge mistake. (Italian numbers are quite complicated as they add each group of numbers into a long string of phrases.) So, armed with my Italian dictionary and great hope, I arrived at the hour of the rug bidding. When ‘my’ rug came up for bid, my heart started to pound. The numbers began to get very long, very complicated, very quickly. Finally there were two of us that seemed to be left wanting the rug. I didn’t want to go over $1000US so I was listening, bidding and trying to translate at the same time. When I thought it was still in the acceptable range, an old Italian woman raised the bid; I raised mine. Two more rounds and it became mine at unmilionenovamilaquattromillequattrocento (1,094,400 Lira or $684US). I carried it three blocks home, placed it in the center of my Florentine apartment and voila— perfection. 

 

      I shipped it to Washington via boat that took three months! I though for certain it was lost. Finally, both Ed and I marveled how perfect it was under Grandmother Cooke’s table in the dining room. I placed it first in the dining room of my Rehoboth Beach home and now my Milton home, still under Grandmother’s table.

FAVORITE DELAWARE BEACHES RESTAURANTS SAGA 8:

AGAVE MEXICAN GRILL AND TEQUILA BAR
Lewes, Delaware

Located on Second Street in Lewes' historic district, Agave is set in simple but classy surroundings and offers Mexican food that critics and diners rave about.

It's definitely the best Mexican restaurant I've ever eaten at: the Margaritas are freshly made and delicious. (They have over 70 kinds of Tequila!)

Ah! And the food: very fresh, very interesting and different, scrumptious and refreshing. I can't recommend it enough.

Ted and I have had several excellent meals there.

ARTWORK SAGA 4:

PETER MAX PRINT
Milton, DE.
2001

Soon after the 9/11 disaster, I saw this signed print on eBay. I immediately bid on it and finally won.

signed: UNITED WE STAND, MAX 2001.

FAVORITE DELAWARE COAST PLACES SAGA:

INDIAN RIVER LIFE SAVING STATION
Rehoboth Beach

This is a remarkable group of 19th Century buildings.

Before the Coast Guard existed, these life saving stations were at regular intervals along the coast to save people from ship wrecks.

Men would stay for weeks at a time occupying the barracks.

Special equipment was invented to help the rescues.

FAVORITE DELAWARE BEACHES RESTAURANTS SAGA 7:

GILLIGAN'S WATERFRONT RESTAURANT AND BAR

Lewes, Delaware

One of my favorite places is GILLIGAN'S. It's right on the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal in Lewes, half in an old fishing boat from Key West, perched up on the bank.

The bar and kitchen are in the boat. The restaurant is on a deck extending along the water. An enclosed dinning area has recently been added.

Half of the deck is under two beautiful cherry trees.

The food is good but the setting and view are extraordinary!

The scrumptious crab cake is the house specialty. The best I've ever had!