Smashed Pennies

I think that it would be so cool to have a penny smashing machine in my house.  It'd be better if I could change out the die every time and get hundreds of different pennies anytime I wanted.

Since that isn't terribly practical, it's nice that tourist places have penny smashing machines for people like me.

When I went on my roadtrip I went to Pennycollector.com first to make sure that I did find a few penny smushing spots in their "locations" section.  My friend Lynn enjoys smashing pennies, too, so she was up for finding a few locations in her area.  The Strasburg Railroad was just blocks away from her home, so that was an easy find.

The next place she took me was to Intercourse, PA.  Yep, there really is an Intercourse.  They also have Blue Ball, Paradise and Bird in Hand.   I now have an elongated penny from Intercourse.

We went to The Gift House at Kitchen Kettle Village to find the penny machine shown above.  Lynn had always used the automatic penny smashers, so it was fun that she got to manually smash her own. 

I got one of each of these I think.  I most certainly got the one that said Intercourse, PA. (snicker snicker)

I also had to buy a new penny book as I was filling them up quickly.   You can get the penny books at Pennycollector.com.  Thankfully the gift shop had them available right there at the machine and they were from Pennycollector.com!  (No I am not getting a commission for saying their name so often - they are just a fabulous resource for all smashed penny stuff)


If you wonder what in the world you can do with your penny once you've successfully smashed it into a long shape with a souvenir logo on it, well you have reached the right spot. 

The Traveling Pratters

The Traveling Pratters blog had several beautiful pieces that she'd made into jewelry.  It looked like at one time she had an Etsy site, but there wasn't anything in it.  If you know of someone who is into jewelry making, any of these projects would be fun to make.

Pressed Penny Bracelet on CRAFT

I really like this one.  It's a bit too much for me to wear, but it sure does make a statement and I like that!! 

Penny bracelet or necklace on Pennycollector.com

I think this is a great idea - one penny protected in a little silicon sleeve.   I have a Chicago World's Fair penny from the early 1900s.  This would be a great way to display and wear the penny.  

If you ever see a penny machine, go ahead and smash one!  It's only 51¢ and it fits easily in your pocket.

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Foley Flowers

POTD - Foley Flowers

©2011 Kristin Corlett

The two or three block area of Foley, Alabama that looks to be its original town center has some very pretty hanging flower baskets.  I thought these two looked especially brilliant when paired with the bright blue and yellow of the auto parts store.  I don't know if it's Route 59 or State Road 59, but 59 is a very very busy road and it goes right through the heart of old Foley.  The flowering baskets, the old store fronts and the Magnolia Hotel are just a few of the wonderful things to see in Foley. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - All in One

POTD - All in One

©2011 Kristin Corlett

I titled this All in One because it has so many elements that I look for, all in one shot.  Of course it's got an old, rusty mailbox, but it also has peeling letters with a letter missing, a cool sign (in this case it's an Amish carriage) and a decaying building.  It's a Kristin Goldmine if you ask me.  :)

Enjoy!
Kristin

Massachusetts Route 1

There are quite a few Route 1s in the US, but there's a little stretch of Route 1 in Massachusetts that has a whole host of vintage and cool signs.   My friend Bob knows how much I love signs so she braved the fierce traffic and took me on a photography tour one lovely afternoon. 

Bob told me that she's been driving this route for years and has gradually noticed the old motels and restaurants going by way of the bulldozer.  She thought we'd better photograph the signs before they were all gone.  I couldn't have agreed more.

The Fern and Chisholm are both up and running, although the Chisholm seems to have been kept up a lot better than the Fern.  I just love the retro looking chairs outside the doors.  It took nearly everything I had not to have a seat!

Loved this sign and the mini golf.  There were dinosaurs and a humpty dumpty and a hippo.  The big orange dinosaur was right by the road, so it was a bit iconic.

I thought I'd get a good shot of the sign on the side of the building, but my friends, Bob in blue and Tara in pink, thought they'd be funny and tried to cover up the orange beast.

By the way, the ice cream at the Dairy Castle was really good! 

Finally they gave up and just decided to feed dino boy instead. 

We had a great time in the 100º heat on that crazy road.  We really did. 

Karla's Shoes was a place that Bob said she'd visited a few times, but clearly Karla has shut down.

This motel sign is on the way out.  The motel has already been razed but the sign is still there for now.  This was one of the first signs I photographed on our Route 1 tour and I really think it was one of my favorites in this batch.  

I have about a dozen more signs and buildings, but I think I'll save them for next week.  I have more favorites still to come.



Thanks so much for stopping by my place for this edition of Sundays in my City -- or in my case, the city that I visited on my Scion Road Trip 2011.  Unknown Mami is our lovely host for SIMC so be sure and head on over there for more Sunday cities.  Thanks Mami!!

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Abstract Mocha

POTD - Abstract Mocha

©2011 Kristin Corlett

This photo really is supposed to be blurry. Mocha, my kitty, was laying on my stomach with her face literally in my lens. I focused on the wall behind her and then moved the camera back to her furry face. I liked how her face almost became abstract with the light illuminating her fur.  She's very happy to have me back home again and after giving me the silent treatment for a day or so, she's now my faithful companion once again. 

Enjoy!
Kristin

Friday Fragments

It's Friday Fragments Day!!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!  

It's Friday Fragments Day!

Welcome to Friday Fragments!  This is the place where we're able to put little snippets of fun or interesting things together without having to stretch that idea into an entire blog post.

Mrs. 4444 is our lovely host and I am so grateful for her continued hosting of this fun carnival.  For more Friday Fragment finds, please head on over to Half-Past Kissin' Time.  Thanks!

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Next Thursday night is the monthly potluck dinner with our Liver Transplant Support group friends and family.  That means I am going to be spending the week trying to figure out what I'm going to make.  I plan on having a bit more time this coming week, so I can get a little more creative than usual.  I found these Petite Lasagnas on the Can You Stay for Dinner blog and they look like a lot of fun to make and take.   What would you make if you were going to a potluck dinner? 

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Alphabet Truck © Eric Tabuchi

Have you seen this?  It's the Truck Alphabet series from Eric Tabuchi, that I originally found on the lens culture page.  On my Scion Road Trip I kept my eyes open for my own truck alphabet and I didn't see a single one that had a letter on the back of the truck.   I think these were taken in other countries because here in the United States, there's a lot of information on the back of trucks or nothing at all.  Guess I'll have to come up with my own interesting series, huh?  Still, this is really cool :0)

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Have you ever mailed anything totally off the wall to a friend or relative just for the fun of it?  Well, I happened upon this fun project, that I'm going to do for my nieces and soon!  It's just too much fun.
It's called bubble wrap hopscotch and it is part of the Happy Mail project from Givers Log.  The cool thing is that this weighs under 13 oz, so it can be mailed out for cheap cheap cheap!

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Don't you sometimes wish you could like (or dislike) everything that you come across?  I found these Facebook "style" stamps on the Playwho website.  There's a lot of fun stuff at this site - like the balancing S/P shakers, The VW bus tent (too expensive for me though!), and of course the All the cool people blog picture!

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I love the As Seen on TV product ads, I really do!   The exaggerated eye rolls and fumbling of keys or blankets or in this case, eggs, just makes me laugh!  The last time I made a "crack" about an as-seen-on product, one of my friends used it.  Ooops!  So what I really want to know is...

Do you find it so terribly difficult to crack an egg that you would need this product?  The Ez Cracker

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This wasn't my typical Friday Fragments post, but I had a lot of fun stuff saved up that I just had to share.  Hope you enjoyed and please go visit other Friday Fraggers when you get a chance.  

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kristin

POTD - Rest Area

POTD - Rest Area

©2011 Kristin Corlett

This is my favorite rest area in Alabama.

On the back roads from Gulf Shores, AL to I-10 in Florida is this port-a-potty storage place.  I've always wanted a photo of it, but I've always been alone in my car and on a two lane road, it's very hard to do my drive-by photography trick.  My husband had come with me, so I was able to take the photos as a passenger this time.  I know it's funny that I was so excited about getting a port-a-potty shot, but I really was!  So this is indeed my favorite rest area in Alabama.

Enjoy!
Kristin

How to build a sandcastle sculpture

My Uncle Matthew is a sculptor and I didn't even know it.  When I went to Gulf Shores a few days ago I saw this strange contraption in the garage and asked what it was.  Matthew told me that it was the mold for making sandcastles.   Then he showed me the shovel and his sculpting tools.

I had to see it in action, so I asked if we could go to the beach later that day and he said sure!

Here is the altered plastic trash bin.  There's a rope tied on opposite sides and the bottom of the bin has been completely cut out.  Matthew created a little mound of sand first, then placed the bin on top and started adding sand.

Then he brought out the pickle pail and got water and added that in.  Water and sand.  Water and sand.  This makes the sand easier to manipulate.

When we were in the Burger King business pickles used to come in green pails like this one.  We always had pickle pails in the garage and of course everyone I knew had a pickle pail or two.  It's been a long time since I've seen a green pickle pail.  I'm so happy that there's at least one still in the family.

I think Matthew got into the bin after eat water and sand layer to compact the sand.

The bin is totally full and he has put in the last bucket of water and it letting it firm up.  He taps on the side of the bin from top to bottom, helping to compact the sand even more.  This also helps to release the bin from the compacted sand within.

My dad, in the gray shirt and my husband in the white t-shirt and towel are helping.  Matthew had had concerns that maybe this trash bin wasn't strong enough for too many uses and ultimately the rope pulled through one side.  The boys then had to pull the bin up.  It was no easy task!

Finally the mold was released and the sand for is ready for sculpting.

The first few cuts are drastic, but Matthew knows what he is doing.

He has a knife and a trowel that he mostly used.  Can you see the form that this sand sculpture is becoming?

Matthew told me that the sculptures he makes need to pretty compact because when the sand dries out it just falls off.  He doesn't have a spray bottle or anything to keep it all wet all the time.

At one point during the process, Matthew went to out shady spot to grab a drink and take a breather. This little girl started gathering shells and trying to poke them into the sculpture to make eyes.  She was doing a little decorating and well, her decorating was not appreciated!  Matthew put her to work patting down the sides so she could still be involved and not mess up the vision he had for the sculpture.

Here is the pelican, looking out over the water.  I think Matthew changed a few things on the bird after this shot, but those were just little things.

It's pretty cool, don't you think?

It took a few hours to do it, but boy was it fun.

So much more fun than laying on a towel.

Here's Mr. Pelican watching the smooth Gulf water this day.

My Aunt Marg and Uncle Matthew with the finished creation.

Thanks Matt for letting me photograph the journey from beach sand to pelican.

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Landscapers art

POTD - Landscapers art

©2011 Kristin Corlett

The guys who were mulching the Publix grocery store plantings left this art installation while they moved the truck. I just thought it was so interesting with all of the long handles, the single wheelbarrow and that brick red mulch. A few moments later, all the guys came back, gathered the tools, swept up the spilled mulch and moved on. It was truly just a moment in time.
Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Oyster Bar

POTD - Oyster Bar

©2011 Kristin Corlett

This is the Oyster Bar sign at the Tin Top Restaurant in Bon Secour, Alabama.  We had so much great food here that I didn't even touch my entree when it arrived.  I was just too full.  I knew I was going to love it and over eat even if I just took one bite, so I asked for a box right away and put the entire thing in there.

My Dad loved the oysters.  He said it's some of the best he's ever had.  My Aunt and Uncle said they ate some of the best seafood of their lives here a few days earlier, so we had to come back so my husband and I could try the food.  The 12 appetizers and 5 entrees that we had last night were all fabulous.

OK, so we probably didn't have 12 appetizers, but we had quite a few.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Tin Top Restaurant

Gulf Shores

I've been in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the past two days.

Did you miss me?

Well, I'll be back in my own bed tonight. 

The pier at the state park in Gulf Shores, AL

My Dad and my Aunt and Uncle have been over at the Retirement Home (that's what I call the condo in GS in an over 55 community) for awhile, so my husband and I thought we'd visit while they were all still there.

Besides, I'd been home for a few days already, it was time for another road trip!

Usually when I go back to Michigan I only see my Dad once or twice, so hanging out with him all day for a few days has been a real blessing.

My Uncle Matthew made sand sculptures today on the beach and I photographed the process.  I'm waiting for the photos to upload to my storage account, but I don't think I'll be able to stay awake long enough to get any of those photos into this post.  It's going to be Thursday, I bet, before I can get those up.

We've all got something to look forward to!

Hope you're having a great day!
Kristin

New Jersey

My Scion Road Trip continues to New Jersey.  Now I've heard all of the jokes about New Jersey and although I have been to New Jersey a few times, most of those by accidentally missing the last exit to Philadelphia, I really had no idea what to expect when I went to visit Phyllis.

Phillis received a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic over a year ago, but I really didn't know her too well.  She only came to our support group meetings after her transplant, so I really only got a chance to see her a few times.  Thanks to Facebook, we have become online friends but when I mentioned my road trip she asked if I'd like to make her home one of my stops?

I was a little nervous.  Not because I'd be going to New Jersey, but because I wasn't sure if I was going to find some common interests with Phyllis and her husband.  You know, if we could carry on a conversation!  Turns out I didn't have any problems and I adored them both. 

Phyllis and I hung out in her studio for quite awhile chit chatting and taking pictures of paintbrushes in the mirror, of us in the mirror, plants on her patio, silk flowers in a vase, etc.  I don't look nearly as comfortable on the floor as Phyllis does.  Her hands look so soft and mine look like they are holding on to my camera for dear life.   

Phyllis is a painter and in this house she had a studio built for her with skylights above and lots of windows.  She even had some shelving made to accommodate many paintings. 

This is her current painting, still in progress.  We played around with our camera settings with the painting by getting as close as possible and moving out until it was in focus. 

Phyllis has shown her art in many galleries and also had a class that she taught on Tuesdays to a wonderful group of ladies.  A professional photographer took this photo for them (I took a picture of the picture) and I just thought it revealed so much about the people Phyllis hangs out with -- they are fun!

These small green pods are not going to put forth a small delicate flower.  No, no.  These buds are going to reveal some of the largest hibiscus flowers I have ever seen.

Phyllis spotted these by her husband's office and suggested we go by and take some pictures, even though it was nearly 100º outside that day.  When she pulled into the lot where the bushes were located I was truly flabbergasted at how big they were!

I have a fairly small hand, but still, just look at the comparison with that flower!

There was a pink bush, too, and the flowers were just as huge. 

We drove around the city where she lives, drove by a Quaker Cemetery (It was quite plain, as you might imagine) and she showed me their lovely little downtown area.  I can see why Phyllis loves her little community in New Jersey.  I can't wait to come back and visit for more than a day. 

Thanks so much, Phyllis for such a wonderful time.  I had a blast and I'm so grateful that you asked me to stop by.  I am now a fan of New Jersey, too!  Maybe it really is the garden state?!

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Window in Lancaster

POTD - Window in Lancaster

©2011 Kristin Corlett

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a gorgeous old town with tons of beautiful buildings, houses and details.  This window with its eight panel shutters and an overflowing window box was romantic and welcoming.  I could imagine myself transported to another time in our nation's history just looking at this window.

Enjoy!
Kristin