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The State of Mad Men: A Discussion of Where It’s Been and Where It’s Going

Published on June 27, 2013 by In The Vintage KitchenLeave a comment

If you haven’t yet had the chance to watch the season finale of Mad Men, which aired this past Sunday – you may want to skip this post and catch up on some previous Mad Men posts, here and here. Ms. Jeannie would hate to spoil anything for you.

Since you are still reading, we’ll assume you’ve watched and no doubt have some opinions about the last show of the season as well as general thoughts and speculations of what could happen next year on the show. Ms. Jeannie has her theories also. She thought it would be fun to ask a few Mad Men fans about their thoughts and reactions to the most talked about episode of the season.

The Power of Persuasion, Don Draper Mad Men Art Print by GalleryArtLife (click for more info)

To get started, Victor from GalleryArtLife in British Columbia recaps the character of Don Draper …

“I did enjoy this season…started slowly but had a tumultuous ending.
A question was posed with regards to Don’s life and what is the truth about it. Don was raised from childhood on the farm, went through the Depression and WW2 on the farm, had photos of Adam and himself on the farm. When the Korean war arrived Don left his life on the farm and went to war, he even accompanied the coffin back to the town where his family received it. In the last episode of this season we are shown an early teen Don living in a brothel. Later in the episode he returns to the run-down brothel and proclaims to his children that THIS was his home. It will be very interesting next season to find out how all the loose ends are tied up. Never a dull moment.”

Final Scene of Mad Men Season 6. Photo via pinterest.

Ms. Jeannie agrees with Victor – this final scene of Don introducing his children to his past life was powerful and telling. Building viewers up for next season, Ms. Jeannie hopes that Don will, perhaps, finally be able to confront his past so that he can actually leave it in the past and move on to a more authentic life. The trick here will be if Don will be able to figure out his own “real” self since he has been touting another identity for years. In this season, we heard Don say a lot of “this is not what I want” or “this is not how it should go” which could be signs that the genuine hairs of his own philosophies are just starting to tickle underneath his skin.

Mad Men Illustration Print by TuttiConfetti (click for more info)

Maruta from TuttiConfetti in Spain tackles the complex issues Don had to face in this season…

I have been requested to write about Mad Men season 6 not even 24 hours after I watched the last episode and believe me, it’s not easy. Every time a Mad Men season ends, I need some time to process everything I have seen during the 13 episodes and I must learn to live without all those characters in my life. Today my mind goes over and over to the last scene. That look between Sally and Don, so many things were said without any word…

If I had to define this season I would choose the word INTENSE. Probably it has not been as nice as others, but in my opinion it is one of the best. This time Don and his internal fights are the absolute center of the series Everything turns around him. Maybe there are other stories, but they are all minor if you compare to his. I have never seen a Don so tortured, so unhappy, so down as in this season. He cannot reach happiness and it seems he is not willing others to reach it. He is obsessed with his neighbor, unable to love his children as he should, unable to love Megan as she deserves. Completely alcoholic he takes decisions that affect the company and people around him in a bad way.And what to say about Sally? His father suddenly becomes a villain after all that time being a hero.

And then it comes the last episode and you don’t know what to expect. You have started to hate Don and suddenly, there is some light, there is a blue sky and the Don we all knew from other seasons comes out. He rejects going to California in favor of Ted, he picks up his daughter on the edge and he is able to confront himself with his own story and show his children where he really comes from. I could never imagine a better end for this season than this one.

And now? What to expect on last season? Honestly, I have no idea. If I have learnt something during the previous six ones is not to have any expectations because something different it will happen for sure, so I assume it will be the same the last time. I wish he could find peace as Sylvia said, but probably this will not happen and the story, again, will be much better and surprising that what my mind can ever imagine. In the mean time, I will have to learn again to live without all of them and specially without Don.”

From Season 6, Don Draper & Bob Benson. Photo via pinterest.

Ms. Jeannie likes Maruta’s description of Don not being able to enjoy other people’s happiness, which might explain his conflicted relationship with Megan and her burgeoning career. And why he is attracted to the downstairs neighbor, Sylvia who is unhappy in her marriage. Misery does love company, as they say. Perhaps we could extend this further, into the office and Don not understanding or participating in the thrill of the game as he used to. Instead, he sees that Peggy and Ted are happy working together, that Bob Benson is eager to please everyone, and that Harry is ecstatic about all the possibilities of the West Coast clients. Everyone but Don seems to be engaged in their profession, while he looks at it all from the outside in and wonders what all the effort is for.

One of the most controversial character’s this season, was the introduction of Bob Benson. Ms. Jeannie thinks that all the build-up with this mysterious character is a play on the “history always repeats itself” theme. She thinks that Bob is the new Don.

Bob, like Don comes from a different past than he admits and he has the ability to charm his way into people’s lives, proving useful at the most opportune times. Ms. Jeannie thinks Bob will actually be a point of solace for Don in Season 7, proving that Don is not the only person in the world with the desire to reinvent themselves, nor the last. By the end of Season 7, Ms. Jeannie predicts that Roger Sterling will have retired, Bert Cooper will have died (sorry Burt!) and Don will have removed himself from the industry completely (more on that in a minute). Bob will be at the helm of the agency, just underneath Peggy and Joan, who will be the new partners of the first female-run ad agency in New York City.

Vintage 1960's Red Dress from Catbooks1940s. (Click for more info) — Vintage 1960’s Red Dress from Catbooks1940s. (Click for more info)

Joan from Catbooks1940’s in the U.S. discusses Peggy’s character and where she could be headed…

“Much to my surprise, I noted it was actually Paul Kinsey who first put the idea of becoming a copywriter into Peggy’s bright and eager head, not Don or Freddy Rumsen.

Peggy who, towards the end of the finale, ended up in Don’s office, wearing a (fabulous) period pantsuit, sitting in his chair, in half-silhouette, head tilted slightly to the right, echoing Don in the opening graphic we’ve now seen for years. But back to Peggy and Kinsey of Season 1 for a moment.

Kinsey hands the Right Guard account folder to Peggy, sitting at her desk, and asks her to make sure Don takes a look at it. He hesitates, turns back to her and says, “You can look too.” She does.

Later he gives Peggy a grand tour of the office, explaining how the agency works. Over wax paper-wrapped sandwiches from the lunch cart he says, “You know, there are women copywriters.”

“Good ones?” she responds.

“Sure.”

Now she’s Copy Chief, and we’re to suppose she just might be doing more than temporarily filling in her former mentor’s chair in the near future. (I don’t think that’s going to happen. For one, Mad Men is chock full of redirects.)”

According to Ms. Jeannie, Peggy is the spine of the show. Don is the flesh of the story but Peggy is the moral balance. She has the most integrity of all the characters and even though, of course, she is flawed, she’s always trying , at least, to do the right thing, by clients, by co-workers, by love interests. As far as a love life for Peggy, Ms. Jeannie always liked her with Stan, so she hopes they end up together. Even though she referred to him last season as “being like a brother” Ms. Jeannie thinks that given the opportunity to think of him in a romantic way, Peggy could really have a great relationship with him.

Peggy has a bad habit of picking guys that are wrong for her, out of in-experience mostly and her need for challenge, so Stan would never enter her radar because their friendship is so easy-going. But Ms. Jeannie thinks in Season 7, Peggy will come to appreciate that and then seek it out on her own terms. They’ve been friends all these years, Stan respects her work ethic and intuitively they both work well together on creative projects. Stan is just different enough from Peggy for her to keep interested and Stan understands Peggy’s drives and motivations enough to give her the professional space that she requires. Technically, it’s a match made in heaven!

Joan from Catbook1940s brings up the timeliness of Duck’s character towards the end of the episode…

Meanwhile back at the finale, Don has left the building, for all appearances effectively fired from SC&P. On his way down, he runs into Duck, with Don’s prospective replacement, coming out of the elevator before his metaphorical professional body is even cold. Who tipped off headhunter Duck? Pete seems like the most likely suspect, having most recently — as far as we know — been the last in contact with him. But, for all we know, it was Bob, skulking about, eavesdropping, and then giving Duck the call.”

Ms. Jeannie’s not sure about this one. Part of her says, yes, perhaps it was Pete to tell Duck, because who else would have done it. But I think Duck keeps close tabs on what goes on at SC&P and might have heard industry gossip about what occurred at the Hershey presentation, and therefore asserted himself with a meeting at the office.

“As ever, Matt Weiner & Co. were deliciously, infuriatingly vague, leaving it up to us to think it over, connect the dots, read between the lines. Which is one of the reasons I think Mad Men is the best TV show in the history of TV to date: Matt Weiner & Co. do not condescend to us, the audience. They expect us to observe closely and think — there are no throwaway lines

— and, think we do.

Occasionally there are too few clues, or none. How were we to know, for instance, that Joan got the Avon account, were it not for Mr. Weiner’s post-finale interview? Only slightly less confusing, because at least we had a hope of figuring it out on our own, was Pete’s sudden move out to California with Ted, as head of accounts of what would appear to be the beginnings of the West Coast office of SC&P.What about Bob? The most mysterious and controversial character of the season, and Joan’s new BMF. Is he gay, bi, neither but an opportunist ready and willing to do every and anything he thinks is to his advantage, a conspirator in Pete’s mother’s apparent murder? Is he fluent in Spanish because Manny/Manolo is his lover, or for some other reason? Hmm..

Blog reader, Christine from Philadelphia thinks that Bob Benson is up to no good…

“I think that Bob and Manolo are con-men. Bob is working on the inside of SC&P to eventually steal money from the company. Remember, that he worked in accounting to begin with and then, as of late, has been cozying up with Joan, possibly in hopes to learn more about the inner workings of the office. Manolo went the circuitous route by inserting himself in Pete Campbell’s personal life, so that ultimately, with the help of Manolo, Bob could find Pete’s weak spot and bring him down on a fundamental level. Bob could advance in the company and continue to plot about stealing company money before he and Manolo run off together as lovers with a fortune.”

Hmmmm…so much to think about! It seems that could go on for months about Don and Bob. There was a theory flying around the internet all season that Bob was a spy for the government who was after Don. While technically, Ms. Jeannie supposes this could still be a possibility, she is glad that Don is dredging up his past on his own instead of being forced to by police or the government.

With Don no longer trying to stay tight-lipped about his past, he can now begin to let others into his thoughts. What was once a lonely place for him, the internal struggles of his mind can now come to the surface and be shared with others. Sally, in Ms. Jeannie’s opinion, will the one to most appreciate this effort. We know from past seasons that she has yet to develop any hobbies or personal interests, yet she is incredibly observant and outspoken, so Ms. Jeannie thinks that Sally will close the series with the determination of becoming a journalist. She’ll realize that there is value, both financially and emotionally, in watching people’s stories unfold and she;ll become afresh voice of her generation. This will be her way to ultimately figure out her parents, herself and her changing society.

Sally Draper - budding journalist perhaps? Photo via pinterest. — Sally Draper – budding journalist, perhaps? Photo via pinterest.

As for what will become of Don in the final season, Ms. Jeannie thinks that he could stay with Megan, that they could move to Montreal, that they could have a baby and that Megan could continue to work as an actor. Ms. Jeannie really liked Megan’s character, so she is hoping that she is not off the show. She liked that Megan gave her whole heart to Don and tried her best to make it work during both the easy times and the hard times, trying to be both understanding and clever. Being married to Don might have been her best playground for dramatic practice.

Betty is a bit more old-fashioned in defining her own role as a wife and mother, albeit not seeming exactly excited about either option. Don understands Betty more though because they come from the same generation of expectations, where as Megan is thoroughly modern in her thinking. Having said that, Ms. Jeannie thinks Betty will divorce Henry because, with him, her life seems dull. Ms. Jeannie thinks she’ll encourage a reconciliation with Don and a move to a more exotic locale like Mexico or Hawaii, where they can start over as a family with the boys and Sally in tow.

The third possibility is that Don could remain in New York, single, and for the first time, sure of himself, as he watches the city spin around him. He could get out of the advertising industry all together and start a different career path – maybe opening up a cinema, which was the only thing we ever knew that he loved (besides, women, work and drinking of course!). It’s unclear if Don needs to work, or if he has enough in reserve, to just take some time off and sort through his life for awhile.

Ms. Jeannie was disappointed that Roger didn’t pull Don aside before-hand to let him know about the company’s plans of forcing a prolonged absence. Roger and Don were such friends, but in the end, that’s just business, and when it comes down to it, life and work march on whether you are having a meltdown or not. Don had the ability to bring down the whole ship of SC&P, so Roger was possibly looking at it from that perspective. One that his livelihood was tied up in just as much as Don’s.

Joan from Catbooks1940’s thinks the office is going to shake down as foillows…

Predictions for the final season next year? With Mad Men, this is much like trying to predict the flight of a bumblebee, but here goes.

We will know more about Bob Benson. I suspect he’s angling for Pete’s job as head of accounts, and so far, he’s doing well. SC&P isn’t all that picky about the backgrounds of their employees, as long as they can bring in the accounts. Pete’s off to California, anyway. The way he manipulated the nurse at Joan’s visit to the emergency hospital and Pete’s humiliation in Detroit was downright masterful. He’s come a long way from his ham-handed grinning and lurking with two cups of coffee. A quick learner, that boy. So we’ll see if he can use his formidable newly acquired skills on clients as effectively.

I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Don at SC&P, nor do I think all that’s happened will end up being the wake-up call that finally wakes him up. He’ll shape up professionally, Don-talk his way back, and then leave. Probably for California, either to take over the new office out there, or start out on his own. He’s already proved himself many times over to be either incapable or unwilling to change in any meaningful way on a personal level.

Maybe he’ll even talk Peggy and Ted into coming with him. Which would fit nicely with my thought that things between Peggy and Ted aren’t over. Not to say I think it’ll be a happily ever after ending with them, and maybe not even develop into a romantic relationship, but there’s something else in store for those two.

Bert Cooper, one of my favorite characters, may buy the farm next season, leaving SC&P rudderless. For all of his delightfully quixotic quirks, he is the anchor. When push comes to shove, it’s always Bert who sees what needs to be done and does it without hesitation.

Which would leave Roger and Jim Cutler in charge. Except, there’d still be Joan. Roger is no match for Cutler, but Roger *and* Joan just might be. I like the idea of Joan and Roger together, not romantically, but teaming up professionally. I confess I want some sort of happiness and success for Joan, and even Roger, so take this prediction with a grain of salt.

I find Megan too uninteresting and two-dimensional a character to bother thinking about much, but she’ll be out in California, pursuing her acting career, probably solo.

Just to tie back into Season 1, I think Paul Kinsey is in California, pontificating and blowing his mind on acid, in the Haight. But I doubt we’ll ever see him again.”

Women of Mad Men Print by Fishmerman’s Porch (click for more info)

Brandi from Fisherman’s Porch in Michigan was so satisfied with this season’s character development, she couldn’t even begin to decide where the storylines will go next year…

“What I love about the finale is that it’s practically impossible to not talk about but there is so little to say that it doesn’t say itself. I’ve read that Matthew Weiner ends every season as if it’s the last and I really think part of his genius is that he almost always manages to end a season with all the characters in a place that feels complete, while still giving you a reason to keep watching. The finale was wonderful, a great end to kind of a winding season; everyone is right where they need to be. Sigh… I miss it already.”

Well said, Brandi! Matthew Weiner has such a wonderful knack for giving just the right amount of information, without giving all the information. He said recently, in an interview, that he will not be unveiling a big “aha” moment for the series finale, so it is doubtful that Don Draper and the rest of the cast will be wrapped up in a tidy little package like we all would hope. But nonetheless, it is still fun to imagine what could happen while we wait for what will happen.

Thank you to everyone who contributed their comments. If you, dear blog readers, would like to chime in with your thought’s on the show’s direction, please comment below and we’ll continue all of our speculating!

One last thought: One thing that was never addressed were the cops in the season six poster. Do you think that was meant to represent the tumultuous time in history or was it a metaphorical symbol of Don confronting his past? Or maybe they represent his night spent in jail? What do you think?

Mad Men Season 6 poster. Photo courtesy of collider.com

Goat Update: The Adventures of Nymph and Nyle

Published on June 24, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen3 Comments

The other day Ms. Jeannie came home to this scene…

That’s Nyle, as you’ll recall from a previous post, the neighbor’s goat. The flora and fauna feast he’s enjoying are Ms. Jeannie’s scrub bushes in her side yard.

On first glance she thought “Oh look how handsome that goat is!” A second later she realized that seeing Nyle standing there in her yard chewing on her bushes, meant that he had jumped the fence and decided on a visit.

Ms. Jeannie called her neighbor to let him know that Nyle had a bit of wanderlust and was traveling southbound via the sideyard shrubbery.

While she waited for her neighbor, Ms. Jeannie went out to visit with Nyle, who of course, was perfectly pleased to share stories of his adventure…

After recounting the experience, hoof by hoof, Nyle decided that the ice cream topper on this festive occasion would be a good old fashioned game of hide and seek.

"Here I go , Ms. Jeannie. I'll hide and you find me," said Nyle. — “Here I go , Ms. Jeannie. I’ll hide and you find me,” said Nyle.

Nymph looked on from her side of the fence (the right side!) like she was watching a movie unfold.

The chickens were equally captivated by Nyle's antics. — “These leaves are just as tasty as popcorn. “

Even the chickens were captivated…

Just as Nyle was debating such proportions, Ms. Jeannie’s neighbor came to collect him.

There's no hiding from the hand that feeds you. — There’s no hiding from the hand that feeds you.

Back over the fence went Nyle.

“That’s one special character,” said Ms. Jeannie to her neighbor.

“Yeah that Billy Bob, he’s just about as friendly as goats get.”

And that’s the moment when Ms. Jeannie learned that her Nymph and Nyle are actually named Billy Bob and Betty Boop. She also learned that they go bananas for Saltine crackers, that before the end of the year Nymph (aka Betty Boop) will be a mom and (thankfully), that these two are bound for breeding and not table food. So we can all rest assured on that point. Ms. Jeannie can hardly wait to see the little tiny baby goats these two produce!

Thanks for the fun afternoon Billy Bob Nyle!

The Summer Reading List

Published on June 21, 2013June 21, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen10 Comments

The other day, Mr. Jeannie Ology feared the worst. That Ms. Jeannie wound be done in. In the night. By the toppling tower of books that has taken up residence on her tiny night stand next to the bed.

“One wrong flip of your hand and you’ll be dead.”

Ms. Jeannie hadn’t even considered these possibilities. There are a lot of books. But Ms. Jeannie has plans to read each and every one this summer. Mr. Jeannie said it was an ambitious goal.

Ms. Jeannie's summer reading. — Ms. Jeannie’s summer reading.

Perhaps. But Ms. Jeannie is of the ambitious sort, so it is only fitting. Besides, she tells Mr. Jeannie – there could be worse things in life than death by books:)

And so she presents her summer reading list…

Ms. Jeannie promised her handsome husband that after reading each book and thoughtfully thinking about it – she’ll retire it to the towering stacks on the dresser far, far away from the bed. By September, she should be out of harm’s way. Quite possibly, also by then, a new batch of handmade bookshelves will be finished. (hint, hint, Mr. Jeannie!).

Last week, Ms. Jeannie fell in love with this house full of bookshelves from the Hooked on Houses blog.

Photo courtesy of HookedOnHouses.net. Click the photo to see the entire house.

You don’t have to worry about any sudden death here! Perhaps one day, Ms. Jeannie will be appropriately organized with her book collection. Until then, she’ll just have to take it one story at a time.

What’s on your summer reading list? If you’ve read any of the books in Ms. Jeannie’s list above, please let her know which ones and what you thought.

Happy reading and happy weekend!

Announcing the Butterflies: One, Two and Three

Published on June 17, 2013June 17, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen11 Comments

They’ve arrived, they’ve arrived!

The butterflies, dear readers, are born! Here’s their first photo shoot. Each butterfly emerged on a different day so Ms. Jeannie named them appropriately.

Meet Wednesday – the first butterfly…

Brand-new!

Wednesday was the one, if you recall, who chose to cocoon underneath the flower petals of the gerber daisy. A most pretty spot.

Here she was stepping out of the cocoon. Ms. Jeannie just missed her actual emergence by sheer minutes. She had just checked on all three of the cocoons (status quo) and had gone around the corner to cut some herbs for dinner. Five minutes later – here was Wednesday fanning out her new wings.

It was a slow-going little journey up the stalk of the flower while she figured out her legs and the tricky business of holding on. But by the time Ms. Jeannie took this aerial view, Wednesday was an expert!

Because Ms. Jeannie had missed the actual moment of Wednesday unzipping the cocoon doors, she was determined to at least catch Wednesday’s first moment of flight on camera. She didn’t how long this would take. So she waited. And she waited.

Ms. Jeannie’s cat, Satchem (incidentally named after a butterfly, herself) even waited with her for awhile.

oh the anticipation... — oh the anticipation…

This gave Ms. Jeannie some time to explain to Satchem that there would indeed be no butterfly dinners in her future. She seemed to understand. Eventually though, she lost interest in the butterflies altogether and fell asleep underneath the tulip tree.

Meanwhile, Wednesday just stayed in her same spot, fanning those wings and taking in her new surroundings.

After 25 minutes of waiting, Ms. Jeannie got side-tracked and went on to other projects – but she came back to check every few minutes. Going into the second hour, Ms. Jeannie came out to check and there was Wednesday on her petal and then in a flash of a second, there she wasn’t.

She flew off into the garden so fast it was all Ms. Jeannie could do to frantically photograph her flying through the air. Unfortunately this is the best photo she got…

You can just make out the fuzzy swatches of orange as Wednesday flapped her wings. So long pretty girl!

The next butterfly to emerge was Thursday…

Like Wednesday, Thursday also chose the afternoon hours to emerge – although this little butterfly decided to come out just as the storm clouds started to rumble. The wind picked up considerably, and Ms. Jeannie feared that Thursday would get blown away before he had any sort of chance to get his bearings.

With some his legs, not attached - it looked perilous for a moment... — You can see him sort of half-hanging there – it looked perilous for a moment…

But Thursday knew what he was doing. He was being blown about quite a bit – but he para-sailed through the high winds like a champ. Apparently, those stickly little legs are a lot stronger than they look!

Then the rains came – torrential downpours so heavy Ms. Jeannie considered clipping the stalk he was on and bringing it onto the screened porch just to give him a chance to get his act together.

But again, Thursday, adapted. Although this time, he crawled back down to his cocoon and hung onto both the casing and the stalk for extra support.

The rain came down for hours and Thursday hung on. The moment the sun came out, he fanned his wings out a few times and went in search of sunnier skies. Again – Ms. Jeannie managed to grab her camera in time for the first flight – but Thursday was fast – so this is the best she could do…

Only a slight improvement was Wednesday's photograph! — Only a slight improvement was Wednesday’s photograph!

The next day it was back to full hot Georgia sunshine and Friday decided that this was his day to join his pals. Friday was the one who chose to cocoon behind the wooden spinach sign – in what Ms. Jeannie thought was the most disguised location of the group.

Ms. Jeannie was most curious about this ones color pattern since he had a different color cocoon than the others. But he turned out just the same! — Ms. Jeannie was most curious about this one’s color pattern since he had a different color cocoon than the others. But he turned out just the same!

If Friday picked a shy spot to nest, he certainly wasn’t shy about coming out. He immediately started climbing up the wood spike…

So long cocoon, Friday's on a mission! — So long cocoon, Friday’s on a mission!

…and climbed…

All the way to the top of the sign, he climbed. And then do you know what he did?

He climbed over the other side and gave Ms. Jeannie the most beautiful display…

So handsome and so perfectly balanced, he almost looked fake. Like someone had positioned him there on purpose!

And then, just like the others he was there one minute and off exploring the world the next. This time, Ms. Jeannie was sort of ready – but boy is it hard to capture these little fellas when they are flying!

Definietly the best of the flight pictures - but no photo awards for Ms. Jeannie on this front:) — Definitely, the best of the flight pictures – but no photo awards for Ms. Jeannie on this front:)

So there it is – the tale of the three black swallowtails. Most likely, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will stay close to the garden enjoying a bevy of summer flowers before finding their own loves and making more swallowtail babies. Ms. Jeannie hasn’t seen them since their birthdays – but she feels like they could be close by. Of course, if she sees any fluttering about the garden, she will photo them for you to see too. Hopefully by that time, she’ll have improved upon those flight photos!

Watching these little guys grow was a completely amazing experience for Ms. Jeannie, packed to the brim with hope and wonder. If you missed the previous posts, read about the beginnings of the butterflies (as caterpillars) here and (cocoons) here.

Compassion Collects in the Closet: How One Helps Many

Published on June 10, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen5 Comments

This time, Ms. Jeannie’s interview series takes us to the very big city of Chicago, to a very big closet, powered by a lovely lady with a very BIG heart. Meet Nicole of Dotto, vintage fashionista and volunteer extraordinaire.

Nicole runs the sunny vintage clothing shop Dotto, on Etsy. It’s so full of personality, Ms. Jeannie can’t help but think that Nicole is bringing a much needed breath of fresh air to dusty cellars and attics all over the city. She’s the shop model, the copy writer, the clothing scout, the photographer and the coordinator behind her brand. And as if running a successful Etsy shop isn’t accomplishment enough, she also donates proceeds from her shop sales to not one but seven local charities that she’s affiliated with. How does she do it, you ask? Let’s find out…

Nicole of Dotto vintage modeling a 1940 Peter Pan collar dress. Click for more info. — Nicole modeling a 1940 Peter Pan collar dress. Click for more info.

Ms. Jeannie: Oh Nicole – you sound like such a fun person and incredibly nice to be donating shop proceeds to charity. Please explain a bit about how you came to make charities a theme for your shop.

Nicole: AW. I’ve been a pretty serious volunteer for years that probably started with the peace corps, but no wait. I volunteered a little in college too. When I moved to Chicago I spent the first few months going to as many volunteer orientations as I could and was blown away by how many really good- like really good- organizations there were here and at one point had to start cutting back because I was volunteering more than I was working. Anyway, I went to a small business expo about a year ago and was asked what makes my business different and I remember thinking ‘oh my god NOTHING. it’s just clothes’. I decided to show in my shop what I am able to do by making my own hours and working for myself. Whew!

Vintage 1970 Scout Leader Vest. Click for more info.

MJ: Tell us a little about each of the charities you are involved with and why you chose them.

pawschicago.org

Nicole: PAWS Chicago is a no kill animal shelter. I volunteer on the dog side and lately have been fostering cats!

Sit Stay Read is a literacy program that enlists dogs as volunteers TOO. kids get super jazzed about reading to the dogs during classroom visits, it is pretty adorable and their reading scores show a vast improvement.

826 Chicago is a creative writing and tutoring center. They offer field trips to elementary school kids during the day and tutoring to older kids afternoons and evenings. Right now I am working online with four AP history students to help them pass the exam at the end of the year.

Side Note: 826 Chicago was recently part of a TED talk. For a quick, interesting little video about how the 826 concept started click here.

KEEN is an exercise program for kids and teens with disabilities- IT IS AWESOME.

Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly reaches out to isolated seniors all over the city by getting them to senior parties and/or visiting them at home.

Adaptive Sailing helps people with disabilities learn how to sail. It is even more interesting than it sounds.

Side Note: If you are interested in learning more about this program, you can watch this 7 minute video. It is inspiring to see how challenges are turned into rewarding opportunities for both participants and program coordinators. And spending time on the water?! Who couldn’t benefit from that!

workingbikes.org[/caption]

Working Bikes fixes donated bicycles and ships them to countries in need or sells them to the community at a low cost.

MJ: What is your process of determining how much donation goes to which charity?
Nicole: If I’ve missed volunteering with an organization that I usually volunteer with, I’ll donate to them first when extra money comes in. but I try to volunteer with each group at least a few times a month, some of them weekly. When a ‘disaster relief’ item sells, that money goes toward something that is currently going on in the world through www.globalgiving.org

Vintage Christmas Angel Nativity Dress. This is one of more than a dozen pieces in Nicole's shop that contribute to disaster relief funds. Click here to see what catches your eye. — Vintage Christmas Angel Nativity Dress. This is one of more than a dozen pieces in Nicole’s shop that contribute to disaster relief funds. Click here to see what catches your eye.

MJ: Your photographs are full of personality – do you work with a photographer or do you arrange all the sets yourself?

Vintage 1960's sheer black slip. — Nicole’s clever spin on a vintage 1960’s sheer black slip.

Nicole: I use a timed camera in all of the photos with a white background. The professional outdoor photography is done by my verrrry talented friend Rodion Galperin.

It's gard to figure out what's prettier - Rodion's photograph or the dress! Mid-century lace wedding dress. Click for more info. — It’s hard to figure out what’s prettier – Rodion’s photograph or the dress! Mid-century lace wedding dress. Click for more info.

For one year, Rodion traveled across the US with a red paper heart. Watch the beauty of this amazing project unfold here…

MJ: What’s your most favorite decade of vintage clothing?
Nicole: ooooh. It changes all the time. Currently the 1940s. I love the fitted waists and powerful shoulders that evolved with women entering the workplace.

MJ: What’s your most favorite item in your shop right now?
Nicole: The white sequin dress with pink flowers. People always ask if I wear things that are in my shop and I feel kind of weird that I don’t (except wouldn’t it be kind of weird if I did?) but it’s true. I do, however, put things in my shop that I’ve worn before… this dress is the ultimate. I wore it to a dive bar for New Years a few years ago (true story) and for my birthday one year. I am going to cry a river once it sells but I always feel a little bit like I am getting married when I wear it, so. . .

MJ: Every once in awhile we see a cat or a dog or another person pop-up in your listing photographs. Tell us about your fellow models.
Nicole: Oh the muffin butts? They make the best models. the dogs are from my hometown in California, they’re in the backyard photos… right now I am fostering a tabby cat from an animal shelter- he only enters the picture if treats are involved. A few months ago I fostered brother cats who looooved posing. Or sleeping along the wall by my feet while I took photos for hours, the lovers.

With kitty and the pink Mid-Century pajamas.

MJ: What is the strangest thing you have come across in your vintage adventures?
Nicole: A friend found a guy on craigslist in upstate New York who ‘had a lot of inventory’ that turned out to be a huge barn FILLED with vintage clothing. I tell you what. We thought we’d walked into heaven when we entered that barn. A dark musty old clothing filled heaven.

Side note: This story reminded Ms. Jeannie of Julie’s interview from Fishs Eddy – she discovered a treasure trove of vintage china in an old barn in upstate New York too. Maybe these two barns knew each other:)

MJ: Ms. Jeannie loves Chicago! She has many ancestors from there and her father grew up in Oak Park. Are you from there? What are some of your favorite things about living there?
Nicole: I am with you, girl! I love this city, I moved here on a whim two and a half years ago. The architecture and snow and the Colombian Exposition of 1893 are what initially drew me here. But the FOOD! What a pleasant surprise, I had no idea it was such a dream food city before I moved here.

Chicago Photography by Rebecca Plotnick. Click for more info.

MJ: When you are not Etsy-ing or volunteering, what else do you like to do with your time?
Nicole: I love to ride around on my bicycle, which I initially got into to impress a guy. Ugh, good thing bikes are so awesome. Every once in a while I design and sew clothing- it’s actually why I originally signed up on Etsy. And then vintage clothing ended up taking over.

MJ: It looks like, from your previous shop move, that you have been affiliated with Etsy since almost the beginning, back in 2007. How did you discover Etsy? How has it evolved since 2007 and why did you decide for a change from gimmeNicole to Dotto?
Nicole: I get asked about Etsy a lot and it’s kind of fuzzy. I think I heard about it through someone on Ebay. Weird, right? Remember when listing an item on Etsy used to take several pages? And you had to add photos one at a time? I remember the day they rolled out the one page listing template and everything was like MAGIC.

MJ: What is your favorite type of vintage clothing to scout?
Nicole: I don’t have too much of a filter, I will go for anything. I physically cannot stop myself from grabbing anything neon or glittery, sheer or with matching belt. I used to get anxious when I shopped, like if I didn’t do it fast enough people would find things that I was meant to find but that has changed completely over the years. I’ll totally give someone something from my cart if they are eyeing it (okay. within REASON)

MJ: Do you wear a lot of vintage clothing yourself?
Nicole: Ugh, I don’t. And I have kept some really beautiful things since I started my shop! I’ll wear vintage for special occasions or anything where I have to think about what to wear beforehand, definitely. I love over dressing for an event. But daily, I almost always wear a t shirt and jeans or skirt.

Vintage his/hers reversible soccer shirt.

MJ: It seems that your shop clothes are full of American nostalgia from camp t-shirts all the way down the line to prom dresses and ballet costumes. Do you look for items that are reminiscent of a traditional American past or does it just happen to work out like that?
Nicole: Oh it just happens to work out like that.

Vintage Ballerina Costume. — Vintage Ballerina Costume

Mermaid Green Party Dress. Possible former prom dress?! — Possible former prom dress?! Vintage 1980’s Mermaid Green Party Dress.

MJ: Do you sell most of your items to customers in the US or overseas?
Nicole: I think it’s split pretty evenly. I sell a lot to England and Australia, I always wonder if those places are especially void of vintage clothing or if they’re just more inclined to shop online. Stateside, more orders than I ever would have bet on are from Texas. but really, it’s just so spread out.

Side note: Ms. Jeannie also sells a lot of vintage to Australia. She recently spoke with a customer who shed some light on the subject. It seems there is just not a lot of vintage or antique items in Australia. And what they do have is really really expensive, so for collectors it is much more cost effective to purchase vintage from the States. Even with our high shipping prices to their neck of the woods, it still works out in their favor.

MJ: Buying from your shop is almost like receiving two gifts! You give something back to the community and you receive a fabulous vintage item at the same time, do you think people respond to that and do you think that affects their purchasing decisions?
Nicole: AW. I feel like that’s split too. but always if someone didn’t notice that their purchase helps organizations around the city, they’re pretty jazzed when they find out afterward.

MJ: Have you seen the impact that your charitable contributions have made? Is there a Nicole Cat Hospital somewhere in Chicago or a statue of your loveliness downtown?! Did the mayor give you a key to the city?!
Nicole: whaaaaaaaaaat an enormous key to the city? Who wouldn’t want that. It would have to be enormous, otherwise the deal would be off.

MJ: If we were to come spend a day with you in Chicago, and you were to act as tour guide, where would you take us?
Nicole: WELL. every old theater we could get into, most of them in Uptown. I am just slightly obsessed with atriums and glass ceilings- Harold Washington Library, the Cultural Center, the Rookery. You would have too ooh and ahh at architecture along the river with me, naturally.

Harold Washington Library Photograph by Carolyn Jane Photo. Click for more info.

Chicago Cultural Center Tiffany Dome Photograph by unfinishedphoto via etsy. Click for more info. — Chicago Cultural Center Tiffany Dome Photograph by unfinishedphoto . Click for more info.

Rookery Building photograph by photoasylum. Click for more info.

MJ: And last but not least…the universal questions: What book(s) are you currently reading? And what music are you listening to?
Nicole: I’ve been listening to a lot of Lissie and old Ratatat lately and reading a book that my sister recommended called The Secret History. It’s by Donna Tartt and is pretty excellent.

With over 190 items in her shop you most certainly might find a new treasure for your wardrobe. Ms. Jeannie encourages you to help the helper, by visiting Nicole’s shop on Etsy or by passing along this post to someone else who would enjoy it. Best case scenario, you might aid in helping a shelter dog find a new home or a withdrawn senior find a smile. Worst case scenario, you keep Nicole afloat so that she can continue to be a working wonder in the windy city.

Happy adventuring, dear readers!

In Creative May: Where Ms. Jeannie Popped Up Last Month

Published on June 3, 2013June 3, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen1 Comment

Ms. Jeannie is never one to toot her own horn, but having prefaced what she is about to say with that disclaimer, she is adding a new category to her blog entitled Press Mentions, which will organize all the places around the web where Ms. Jeannie has popped up in conversation.

She likes this category not for the “look at me” neurosis but for the ability to showcase other talented creatives who have stumbled upon Ms. Jeannie’s shop and and interpreted her vintage items in their own unique way. Ms. Jeannie discovers so many fascinating people through these features, so many new ideas, so many new viewpoints, that’s what she’d like to pass on to you in these monthly round-ups. Possibly you will discover something new and exciting for yourself.

All of the photographs are clickable links that go directly to each source’s site so get your explorer hat on and ready yourself for a little getaway. In this round-up, you’ll head to to Britain (twice), fall in love with flowers all over again, be introduced to what is fresh and new in beachy cottage decor and be inspired by the possibilities of paper.

Jocelyn is an American expat living in London. With a beautiful eye for interior design, her blog offers a calm, thoughtful and artful approach to living graciously. — Jocelyn is an American expat living in London. With a beautiful eye for interior design (see her portfolio here), her blog offers a calm, thoughtful and artful approach to living graciously.

Freedom with Flowers follows the adventures of Regan, who just celebrated her 20th birthday and has a gorgeous appreciation of all things floral. — Freedom with Flowers follows the adventures of Rowan, who just celebrated her 20th birthday and has a gorgeous appreciation of all things floral.

Mickey has been involved in the advertysing and design industries for over 30 years. She recently started her own decoupage plate and home decor business. With her relaxed, coastal type feel of her designs - these plates would be perfect for beach houses or country cottages. — Mickey has been involved in the advertising and design industries for over 30 years. She recently started her own decoupage plate and home decor business. With the relaxed, coastal type feel of her designs, they would be perfect additions to your beach house or country cottage.

Peta is also based in the UK. In addition to selling vintage jewelry online she also is the editor a new free vintage magazine, which is gorgeous in both layout and design. Content ranges from vintage recipes to howto tutorials to interviews that recall all the glamour without all the fussiness of vintage style.

Martha needs no introduction! This feature was thrilling for Ms. Jeannie because she has always been inspired by Martha's entrepreneurial spirit. — Martha needs no introduction! This feature was thrilling for Ms. Jeannie because she has always been inspired by Martha’s entrepreneurial spirit!

Happy inspiration! And a great big THANK YOU to all the ladies above for inviting Ms. Jeannie into your thoughts.

Also on quick side note: Ms. Jeannie just joined bloglovin’ which is a handy little organizer that allows you to collect, follow and read blogs from all over the internet in one handy little spot. It doesn’t matter if its a wordpress blog, a blogspot or a personal website – you just gather all the ones you want and every morning your bloglovin’ feed is updated and emailed to you.

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7894337/?claim=vgh2eurpw6b”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

From Caterpillars to Cocoons: Ms. Jeannie’s Nature Show

Published on May 31, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen5 Comments

Oh the butterflies did not prove to disappoint, dear readers! Three little caterpillars built their nests in Ms. Jeannie’s garden, and they did it, so kindly, right where she could see them!

On Tuesday, she went out to water and noticed that all the caterpillars had vanished. Well, all except one who was still hanging out on the parsley. He had been in that same spot for quite a few days although this day, Ms. Jeannie saw two little spider web like threads projecting from each side of his bright little body. When she checked on him in the evening, this is what she found…

If she hadn’t known exactly the spot to look for the caterpillar she would have missed him completely. He has built a cocoon which totally blends in with his surroundings – an overturned parsley sprig – so he matches the pale underside exactly. Here’s another view…

Would you have noticed him in a passing glance?

You can see the little threads here too that keep him anchored to the stalk. This sort of reminds Ms. Jeannie of rock climbers who propel mountains with their thin little safety ropes.

Knowing that all the other caterpillars might have gone on their search for long grasses or house foundations or dead tree limbs to find their nesting site, she looked in all the areas around the pots. Not sure how far a caterpillar could travel or would travel for such a task, she just looked a few yards around each pot. Guess where she found caterpillar number 2?

Ms. Jeannie thinks this one might be the Einstein of the bunch. That was a pretty good place to nest as it backs up to the side of the house. Here he is…

Notice how he has completely camouflaged himself to match the wood grain. There are even little striations in his cocoon that match the light and dark veins of the wood. Even more amazing is that from an aerial viewpoint, the “belly” of his cocoon matches the green leaves of the gerber daisies down below, so again if you were passing by quickly you would just think it was a leaf or something similar.

Caterpillars build their cocoons to protect themselves during the chrysalis stage. Sometimes the cocoon shells are hard and sometimes they are soft (Ms. Jeannie is afraid to poke at her three in case she breaks the threads, so she hasn’t investigated this aspect further) but they are all made out of silk produced by the caterpillars.

Now knowing that they are such good camouflagers, Ms. Jeannie made one last careful check of the pots to see if she could find any others. That’s when she found this last one…

If Ms. Jeannie was a caterpillar she would have picked this spot too – right underneath the flower petals. Clearly, this little one was all about having a lovely view! She gets an “A” in the camouflage department too…

They create cases that blend in to their surroundings so that hopefully they can go unnoticed by predators such as birds and lizards. It’s amazing to think that they will live in these cocoons for a couple of weeks when all that tethers them are those two thin strings. Hardly, it seems, they would be able to stand up to a wind storm or even a summer rain storm. Ms. Jeannie has even taken to watering her containers down at the base, just so her sprinkler wand won’t interfere! Of course they must be strong little threads, just like the webs of spiders, but still, Ms. Jeannie would hate to be the cause of their demise.

So the next step in the butterfly cycle, if all goes well, will be the emergence of each butterfly in the next 10 days or so. According to research, most butterflies like to emerge in the early morning to give their wings a chance to dry out in the weaker light of the morning sun before flying off. Ms. Jeannie would love to capture that moment on camera so she is crossing her fingers (yet again!) for that experience.

Stay tuned for Part Three of this mini-series!

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch…

Published on May 23, 2013May 23, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen6 Comments

…crunch…crunch…crunch…

What’s that in the garden, Ms. Jeannie hears?

someone's been enjoying the garden greens... — someone’s been enjoying the garden greens…

It appears as if someone’s dived into the salad bar in the garden! The feasting is happening in the parsley plant that Ms. Jeannie just blogged about the other day. Do you remember this…

That was the parsley plant just 9 days ago. And now this is what it looks like today…

it's a stem garden! — it’s a stem garden!

Oh dear! What happened you ask? Well, my darlings, it seems Ms. Jeannie’s been invaded by these little characters…

The swallowtail butterflies. Or, to be more exact, the infants of swallowtail butterflies.

Upon first spotting them, Ms. Jeannie had to make an immediate decision – save the parsley or propagate the butterflies. Apparently in nature you cannot have both! This turned out to be an easy decision for Ms. Jeannie. After all, parsley is not nearly as exciting as a butterfly (sorry green leafy friends), even though her herb did look beautiful and bountiful next to the gerber daisies and spinach.

Once she became pro butterfly, Ms. Jeannie began to thoroughly enjoy her new dinner guests. They are quite cute in that young baby way, with their fat bellies and their energetic ways.

This is the last stage of babyhood for these guys. They are ferociously devouring the parsley (oh the eating habits of teenagers!) so that they can build enough strength, stamina and sustenance to cocoon themselves for the nest few weeks while they grow into butterflies.

Ms. Jeannie is seriously hoping that they cocoon in the pot, but she’s not sure what the game plan is for that stage. Research says they like long grasses or house foundations, somewhere away from the birds. Ms. Jeannie has both of those nearby but how would she ever find them in the long grasses?

Ms. Jeannie looks forward to seeing the butterflies emerge and hopefully spend a little time in her garden once they’ve winged out.

Once they are at that stage, they’ll look like this…

Swallowtail Butterfly photograph by Michelle Reynolds. Click for info.

Butterflies in mythology have long symbolized renewal. Perhaps Ms. Jeannie is cultivating some new changes in her life, or perhaps it’s just nature taking its course. Every summer it seems like there is some magical event that occurs over and over again in Ms. Jeannie’s life, a theme if you will, or a special situation that heralds that specific year with a specific reference. Last year it was the summer of the cows, the year before that, it was the summer of the fireworks. Ms. Jeannie would be thrilled if this was the summer of the butterflies:)

If all goes well with her brood, she’ll have just under a dozen butterflies, floating on the mid-summer breeze. Keep your fingers crossed! Adult butterflies impact the environment most actively by pollinating plants and flowers which is why they are beneficial to have in your garden. Even though they have short life spans, most just a few weeks, they can bring endless joy to a garden for seasons and spirits long after they are gone.

Ms. Jeannie never fails to be amazed and surprised by the sight of a butterfly. For such a fragile creature to last for weeks, let alone minutes in our environment astounds her. Perhaps that’s why they are so magical. They start out camouflaged en masse, creeping and crawling, but one by one they turn inward, wrapping themselves in their own comforter, stewing in their own protection, before emerging a changed creature, light and independent. They are the best case scenarios, the happy endings, the freedoms of ability that is at the root of all human yearnings.

Ms. Jeannie is glad to have a little part in the continuation of such symbolism and hope in her little corner of the world.

The Lamb and the Butterfly via pinterest

More on the butterflies (hopefully) coming soon!

Garden Update! Notes from an Experimentalist…

Published on May 14, 2013May 14, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen1 Comment

Oh, dear readers, the great big fig tree experiment has just gotten a little more interesting. It’s been a little over two months since Ms. Jeannie last reported on the status of the fig tree that she’s trying to grow from a clipping.

To refresh, this is where we left off…

Fig clipping sprouts as they looked on March 9, 2013. — After 2 months in plastic bag hibernation, the fig clipping sprouts! Here is how it looked on March 9, 2013.

Clipping then incorporated into a potting soil, peanut shell mixture. — The clipping was then incorporated that same day into a potting soil/peanut shell mixture.

Since early March, Ms. Jeannie has been watering it and keeping her eye on the progress. Only it’s been difficult to see what’s going on in there, even though the cup is clear. The peanut shells have little threads on them which can look like roots if you are an optimist like Ms. Jeannie! So yesterday, Ms. Jeannie decided to dump out (carefully) the contents of the cup to check on the status of her little sprouts.

This is what she found…

And after the dump…

Not a sprout in sight! Where oh where have they all gone? Now the only thing in their place is a mysterious white powdery fungus, and shriveled, wrinkly bark.

The little sprouts had been doing so good in the newspaper and plastic bag leg of the journey. But once they made the big leap to the cup, it seems things went awry. Hmmm…

After some discussion with Mr. Jeannie Ology, it was discovered that the peanut shells may have been the culprit. They were whole roasted peanut shells, lightly salted. Ohhh. Ms. Jeannie hadn’t even considered that aspect before she added the shells into her soil mixture. Oops. Essentially, she “salt cured” her fig clipping. Which evidently, newly formed sprouts do not favor.

Too much salt in soil causes water to move outside of plant cells, so even though Ms. Jeannie was watering her clipping occasionally – the plant cells weren’t getting the proper amount of hydration causing the sprouts to shrivel up and fall off. This also explains why the stem looks dry and wrinkly.

As for the fungus, Ms. Jeannie could have removed it with a little toothbrush cleaning – but she felt awful about the salting, and the clipping looked pretty much done in, so off it went to the great garbage can graveyard. Sorry clipping – we’ll do better next time.

But funny enough, do you remember the other fig experiment? The one where she was trying to root the clipping in water? In March this is how it looked…

Method 2: Rooting a fig twig in a container of water.

And now in May…this is how it looks…

On top it still looks exactly the same but... — On top it still looks exactly the same but…

Look at the underwater view…

And not just one or two - but many many roots! — And not just one or two – but many, many roots!

So many roots and so little effort!

This is by far the easiest way to grow a fig clipping. No maintenance involved here – just clip and store in water for about three months. Now all Ms. Jeannie has to do is figure out how to handle these sprouts best. Should she pull it out of the jar and plant it in plain potting soil? Or should she leave it to linger in the water longer?

She could also dig up a few scoopfuls of dirt from underneath her well established big fig bushes in the yard. Clearly they are happy with that type of soil, so that could be the base for her potting soil mixture. Common sense tells her that in the wild, these fig bushes would not have been coddled so much! It’s not rocket science after all, but Ms. Jeannie would hate to lose two fig clippings to carelessness. Such decisions!

While she decides what to do about the figs, let’s look and see how the homemade newspaper seed pots are holding up. Six weeks ago, they looked like this in all their brand new beauty…

And here they are now, after surviving out of doors, for 40+ days including 7 days of continuous rain…

A little more crinkly, but other than that practically as good as new! Ms. Jeannie really thought that after that week-long rain event last week that they were going to be a soggy mess! But they weren’t at all. These newspaper pots held up beautifully. Ms. Jeannie speculates it is because she double wrapped them using two sections of newspaper instead of one. If you’d like simple step by step instruction on how to make these budget friendly seed pots, click here.

Now all we have to do is wait for the spinach to grow, grow, grow. Ms. Jeannie planted some seeds directly in two of her flower pots as well. The pots were supposed to be spinach, parsley and basil but, the Gerber daisies from last year over-wintered and now decided they were ready for round two!

Ms. Jeannie’s hoping that there is room underneath the soil for all three! The parsley is taking off like wildfire and the gerber daisies are an inch taller every time Ms. Jeannie looks at them! To encourage her vegetable – Ms. Jeannie painted a sign and stuck it in the pot. Maybe it will help inspire the seedlings:)

So there you have it, two garden experiments both turning out differently then expected. That is sort of the thrill of gardening though, isn’t it?

When you are playing games with Mother Nature, you just never know exactly what could happen. You may have a general idea, or a general course of action, but Mother Nature likes to play her own hand from time to time as well. She’s quite a card shark that one. And talk about a poker face? She’ll bluff with the best of them:)

Vintage Floral playing cards from 2BlueDogsDesign — Vintage Floral Playing Cards from 2BlueDogsDesign

Are you experimenting with (or gambling on!) anything in your garden this year? If so, please share your adventure in the comments section!

Nymph & Nyle: The New Kids on the Block

Published on May 6, 2013May 7, 2013 by In The Vintage Kitchen4 Comments

The other day, Ms. Jeannie’s next door neighbor came home with two new additions.

Ms. Jeannie heard them before she ever saw them. Crying and bleating for two days straight, Ms. Jeannie thought that what she was hearing were actually small children playing in the yard. Relatives, she assumed visiting their family. As it turns out – it was a different kind of kid altogether!

To give you an idea of what they sounded like, Ms. Jeannie found this video on youtube. They sounded exactly like that (minus the chickens!).

Poor things. These two were making so much noise because they are little baby goats and they were missing their mom and trying to adjust to their new surroundings. On day 3 though, calm came, they settled in and were as quiet as can be. Which is the preferred way to keep goats. Apparently a silent goat is a happy goat!

These two are Boer goats which is a meat goat, as opposed to a milk goat, that originated in South Africa. Ms. Jeannie really hopes that her neighbor has no intention of putting these two on the dinner table. They’ve only been in the neighborhood for less than a week, but already Ms. Jeannie loves them.

At first they were very shy and skittish and stayed back near the tree line on the other side of the pasture, far from Ms. Jeannie and the fence. But it just took a little bit of time and some natural curiosity before they made friends. Now whenever they see Ms. Jeannie, they come hopping, like bunny rabbits, over to the fence and let Ms. Jeannie scratch their noses. She hasn’t spoken to her neighbor to see if they have names yet – but Ms. Jeannie has given them pet names of her own. Nymph on the left, Nyle on the right.

Boer goats have only been in the United States since 1993, so they haven’t been around long. But they are gaining fast in popularity because they easily adapt to their environments, have docile temperaments and grow quickly. Ms. Jeannie was surprised to learn that these two will weigh anywhere from 190lbs. to 340 lbs. pounds once they fully mature. That’s one big goat! (or two in this case!). Right now they are the size of a medium sized dog and weigh in the 30-50 pound range. It’s hard to imagine them growing five to six times bigger!

Because Ms. Jeannie shares a fence-line with this neighbor, she sort of feels a little bit like these are her goats too. It’s fun to have new faces in the side yard! Ms. Jeannie will keep you posted all summer long on the progress of Nymph and Nyle as they grow up. Until next time, they both send a few bahhhs your way!