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2009 May :: Savannah Deville’s

May 9, 2009

THE PIG HOUSE

Filed under: Sewing Patterns of My Life Blog — Savannah @ 10:41 pm
THE PIG HOUSE
There were two estate sales that my feet and Leopold the cart could not get to yesterday.Apparently lines were long at 730 am in front of each sale (started at 9)and there was no way I could walk 11 blocks and then take a bus and then walk some more and have a decent chance to even get in the door.But they both intrigued me,they seemingly called my name,I needed to see one of them with my own eyes.It was The Pig House as everyone called it.Yes, The Pig House. From The Craigs List listing it looked cute and appealing,almost like an Enchanted Cottage.It simply said “large collection of pigs,cookie jars, figurines”,house full and all priced to sell.

I am not a fan of the pig nor the pig collectible,but the picture was just so darn cute.I had no idea when they said ‘house full’ what it was full of.

So I hit The Pig House at 10 am this morning. It was not a quaint nor a charming experience.It was frankly pig hell.The house was barely 1000 square feet if that and everywhere unlike the strategically placed pigs in the pictures were thousands and thousands of pigs.China pigs, fabric pigs,pigs that oinked,wall pigs,basically a pig for every occasion and then some.In this house there were over 9000 pigs,I kid you not,the lady in charge told me so. There was no room to walk and people reaching for things were basically falling all over each other.I was kind of glad I had not been there yesterday with all the aggrivating dealers.There was not one inch of floor wall or counter space that did not hold an oinker.Seeing the poor woman was in a wheel chair and aisle span was about a foot and a half I have no idea how she did not break any.

Looking at the pink walls and the pigs coming out of the rafters I thought if I had money I might keep this as a tourist attraction and play Green Acres on the television and bake take home treats from the BABE COOKBOOK sitting on top of the stove.A pig tearoom!! Sounded pigalicious to me.Anyone that devoted that much effort to something like she did needed to be immortalized.Heck,The National Enquirer would be on it in a second.

So I purchased a few things and no I did not get a pig. But the man following me out did.He bought a huge bronze baying pig.He actually paid 20 dollars for it. He carried it out on one hand like a waiters tray and joking asked us if we knew where we could find some pig stuff.Across the street more people went in and I could hear the exclamations of surprise as they walked in.

So off to the other estate sale I missed that apparently thieves had made off with a lot of the cookbooks the night before the sale. In a zillion dollar home in the Berkeley Hills,it belonged to a former UC professor that loved to read and cook.I felt terrible that some one had broken in and was sure they would turn up at the flea market.Well the joke was on those crooks big time.I was going to buy some and most of the pages in the books were underlined and words were circled much like a teacher corrects a thesis.I thought it was random but out of the 12 cookbooks and 7 books I picked up they were all ‘corrected’ :) by the professor.So I couldnt sell them like that,plus my hands were starting to smell and were almost greasy like.

I recognized it right away. Cat urine big time on everything. So even though I couldnt buy any I was happy that the thieves got theirs.Good Luck trying to sell those books now.I could spot them now as soon as I saw them.And boy I would beware of those books.Smell and all.

So the day is over and I ask myself.Where are they going to unload all those pigs that didnt sell ? Are we going to see mountains of pigs at the flea market every week until they get fed up with them or go to some pig landfill site?

Surely they should have alerted the Happy Pig Collectors Club. I am sure they would have emptied that place. They are are a serious lot,they even have a pig motto.

Happy Pig Club Motto: This is a club dedicated to people who collect pigs, so that they may gain more enjoyment from their hobby and to meet and mingle with others cursed with the same strange affliction. Just for the nonsense of it all and to give respect to “When I see a pig I think of you”.

Okay girls…:) her is the link… Happy Hog heaven to you..:)

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/gms/1158928815.html

Linda Seccaspina
Savannah Devilles

May 7, 2009

BAKE SALE BETTYS SHUT HER DOWN NOW PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE “:)

Filed under: Sewing Patterns of My Life Blog — Savannah @ 5:53 pm

Today I had a grand 53 or was it a 54 block walk looking for things.Did I find anything? Of course not.People are not buying so they are not donating either so things are really grim.Tomorrow it’s an estate sale and then a 4 mile walk to and fro to the Coliseum flea market.Deesperate times require desperate measures.

Most time there are no perks and it is just one long dusty walk with me and my silver cart named Leopold.

Until today,I got to walk past Bakesale Betty’s on the corner of 51st and Telegraph.It does not matter if it is pouring rain or the winds are hurricane strength there is always a line up out the door and down the street past all the ironing boards and chairs she has out there to eat on like tiny picnic tables.

Bakesale Betty was founded by Alison Barakat in January 2002. Alison moved to the Bay Area from Australia in 2000 and cooked at Chez Panisse Cafe for 3 years.

There is NO menu.Just one giant white poster board that they HAND write what’s for ‘eatin’ every day.The staple is the chicken sandwich that is like no other.Chicken pot pie and thats about it except the desserts.

Betty’s Banana Bread
Moist and delicious made with fresh bananas and honey.

Betty’s Brownies
Fudgey and delicious, Betty’s Brownies are classic.

Betty’s Famous Scones
Apricot almond, lemon raisin, and pear ginger scones.

Betty’s Ginger Cookies
Spicy and chewy with chunks of crystallized Australian ginger.

Betty’s Lemon Bars
Made wih fresh lemons.. A delicious buttery crust is perfect with the tart, lemony…

Betty’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
A buttery cookie with plump, juicy raisins, and walnuts. Often referred to as the best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Betty’s Vanilla Shortcakes
Tender classic vanilla shortcakes wonderful with whipped cream and fresh berries.

So are you still with me? I know you have your hand in some cookie jar..:) I want to.:)

So I had to write about this because I have celiac disease and I have to get it out of my system.Celiac Disease = No flour, no Gluten.. no fun… But I love Betty’s and went there once and ate the chicken and the coleslaw.I will remember the experience for the rest of my life.Yes, it was that profound !!!

So,back to today ,and I am walking down 51st and quickly approaching Betty’s.I see her and one of her co workers bringing in the supplies through the back door.Boxes and boxes of fresh strawberries,huge bags of flour,and my stomach starts churning and I know I cannot eat it.I try to close my eyes,I walk faster,I increase the speed and then it happens. Because I am not watching I bump into a patron sitting at one of the ironing boards.I look down and what do I see and smell.A hot Bakesale Betty’s vanilla shortbread ,tons of fresh sliced strawberries and a HUGE dollop of creme fraiche.

I walk faster now, I am screaming inside.It was THE famous strawberry shortcake.She does not make it all year long only when the strawberries are fresh.The aroma of chicken sandwiches and fresh lemonade circle my head and all I want to do is yell. Darn you Betty, Darn you for making stuff that everyone loves .And I cannot eat hahaha…

What can I do? How can I get this longing for Betty out of my system?
I know what I can do..I can write a short story and add links to Bettys food to make everyone else hungry..:).Seeing 99% of the people on my mailing list will not be able to eat it either will make me feel better and get the longing for Betty out of my head..:) Enjoy!! And may the shortcake be with you..:)

THE CHICKEN SANDWICH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeVcRheC70E

THE SHORTCAKE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeElO9bGF8M&feature=related

THE BAKESALE BETTYS PATRON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4SEij5ZQAk&feature=related
LINDA SECCASPINA
SAVANNAH DEVILLES

May 3, 2009

You were a good man Stanley Mellon

Filed under: Sewing Patterns of My Life Blog — Savannah @ 12:02 pm
You were a good man Stanley Mellon
Two months ago some of you will remember I found this man who was surrounded with about 30 boxes of junk at The Coliseum flea market.It obviously didnt belong to the man or his family as he said it was all thrown out on the street.He was selling it all for a buck a piece and I think I bought 30 pieces that day.Videos,books,mysterious rare french books and an old green cardboard filing box full of personal correspndence.

I sold most of the things that week but the correspondence box just sat around and around.I dont know why ,but I just couldnt bring myself to read all the letters in there.I knew when I got home by doing some research that the items had belonged to a History professor called Stanley Mellon.He had written a book called The Political Uses of History :A Study of Historians in the French Revolution (1958).From reading some of his received correspondence he was a master at French Restoration History.He had taught at Yale,UIC etc and locally and was renowned by historians everywhere.I also know he had led a very sad life.Yes ,he had many many people that loved him and wrote him,but by the tone of the letters he was a recluse and died alone.The fact that the letters all stopped in the mid 70’s was a giant clue.He had died last September of 2009.

So I researched more on the web and in the last month another professor had written a 7 page obituary on him obviously out of the great respect he had for him.He had basically wrote everything I had thought of the man and I didnt know him.He wrote that in later years Mr Mellon was jaded with new students that didnt seem to care and if any University had to send someone to talk about the French restoration they called and asked Stanley to do it.Yale University had sought him out to teach after his first book and for years he had a manuscript on Guyizot that he just could not seem to hand it in for publication although it was a masterpiece according to friends.

It broke my heart that this wonderful man who had many letters in there from friends and students asking him to write letter of reccomendations for them at various Universities was basically alone when he died.He had so many friends that loved and worshipped him,yet he chose to be alone.He had even written a note to a woman he loved but did not wnat her to know and he said it would remain in his file.

So what becomes of our ’stuff’??

I asked myself that question one day after the ‘ great fire’ at my former home.I was sitting in front of boxes and boxes of damaged and burnt offerings in the restoration warehouse.Years of collecting were now meaningless.My family was safe and that is all I really cared about.If I so wanted I could replace the damaged collections,but I could never replace the lives of my family.So after that day of sitting there for hours and pondering I stopped collecting.

What became a decision point that day was looking at each item and asking myself if I was going to wake up in the middle of the night missing it. Twenty four hours later and 12 years later I do not miss anything.I used to own two rooms of clothes with 67 Victoria Secret bras and 43 pairs of shoes.Now I own two pairs of black cargo pants,one pair of jeans,six camisoles,socks ,underwear, and one dress.I had collections of dolls and Royal Doultons that would boggle the mind.Friends back home wonder what happened to me and why I dress so boring now and why I just do not seem to want anything.At some point in life for some you decide what is important and that you just do not need the baggage anymore.

How many U Hauls of friends or relatives have you seen at ‘passed’ loved ones full of stuff bing pitched to go in the dumpster. Saving a bunch of stuff hardly seems worthwhile knowing your kids are gonna send them to the Thrift Store or in this case a parking lot at the flea market.As someone on the web wrote that his theory is that collecting stuff is like trying to find anchors to keep you from slipping toward death. The leaving-something-behind theory. “He never did much with his life, but he left a lotta paperwork and trinkets in shoe boxes under his bed. He or she was a good man or woman”

My friend Mindy and I delivered a bookcase once to a woman on Derby Street.To possibly explain this in text is impossible but the images Im sure have scarred Mindy and my mind for the rest of our lifetime..:)

This woman collected books.I am not talking about 100 books nor a 1000 books.She had 1000’s and 1000’s of books everywhere.On the ceiling on the floor stacked 6 feet high,under the floor boards,anywhere there was an empty space there were books.If you know the weather here, its foggy and damp, so imagine years and years of books sitting around and getting wetter and wetter.To help make the books even age faster there were cats.Not to the point that Big and Little Edie Boyle from Grey Gardens had,but to the point that they had urinated on everything so much the books were fermenting.I believe you do not need a scratch n sniff card to understand the smell.:) To make matters worse this woman was asking if we thought kitty litter would take the smell out so she could sell them on Amazon.But, by looking at the house from the outside no one would know what was going on in there.Can you imagine her family having to clean up this mess after she had passed? I tell you this woman was really anchored down :)

So not everyone will agree with me I know that.People like to collect for their enjoyment or their needs.So to all those that have their high school report card or their corsage from their prom.Or even those that have kept the candle from their 21st or 50th birthday I salute you..You are a good woman or man..:)

Linda Seccaspina
Savannah Devilles
May 2009
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