From the inside:
The ring of fire... at breakfast:
A morning tablescape:
A vintage label:
Was your sleeping bag manufactured in Berkeley?
ADDED: I laughed a lot when I took that picture of the Snow Lion label. My camera has face recognition and it identified the picture of the lion on the left as a face.
Posts
72 comments:
I don't see an espresso maker. Those things can make all the difference during a bad camping experience: linkage
I had a Snow Lion for all the years I lived in Alaska. Awesome bag. By the way, Snow Lion may be headquartered in Berkeley, but I bet you a pink pair of footie pajamas your bag was made in China.
wv:apyrogen-- fire extinguisher
I've still got a Snow Lion parka I bought in 1975. It was(is) high quality stuff.
I love those coffee cups. They look like Navy mess mugs from WWII.
"I don't see an espresso maker."
We brought the Aero Press that we use at home. Highly recommended!
"I love those coffee cups. They look like Navy mess mugs from WWII."
My first husband and I bought those at Conran's in NYC in the mid-70s. They represented for us an aesthetic that we were so enthusiastic about that we fantasized about opening a store that would have other things like that. The idea was that these were the absolutely standard items -- an antidote to all the 70s design that was making us sick.
FWIW, I believe Snow Lion stuff was actually made at a factory in Berkeley, though the owner evidently became an early adopter of offshore production after the company went under: http://www.oregonphotos.com/Snowlion1.html .
So are you and Meade tea-partiers, which you demonstrated by leaving behind a clean campsite?
Or are you and he Democrats, and you littered the place like the folks at yesterday's rally?
Oh yes, the espresso maker is key!
But since our espresso maker is somewhere in our flood pack up we are using our press on the cub scout camp out this weekend.
Trey
Did the professor wear a skirt?
Pre Mead, when was the last time you went camping?
Just got back from air line travel. Men should definitely not wear shorts, muscle shirts and/or flip flops while flying. Come on guys. It's way too close for that.
Just looked at the coffee cup pictures. Wal-Mart sells them. I've had two for a couple of years now. My favorite go-to mugs in the morning for coffee. Remind me of an old fashioned diner or truck stop mug.
Nice bus you rode in on, but the terrain doesn't look as if it would be any good for bicycles (Meade really has turned you into an outdoorswoman).
caplight said...
Did the professor wear a skirt?
Doesn't she always when doing battle with Mother Nature?
PS You paint your nails black? Ann, you're not going Goth on us, are you?
PPS I love campy's term in the rally thread, Imaginary-Americans, to describe the voters to be manufactured by SEIU (now that ACORN's supposedly gone) to steal the close races from the Tea Party.
Of a piece with Gloria Allred's "undocumented worker".
"I love those coffee cups. They look like Navy mess mugs from WWII."
My first husband and I bought those at Conran's in NYC in the mid-70s. They represented for us an aesthetic that we were so enthusiastic about that we fantasized about opening a store that would have other things like that. The idea was that these were the absolutely standard items -- an antidote to all the 70s design that was making us sick.
I'd pay a lot of money to be able to have those exact mugs in my home. I always use them when I'm back home in Madison. They somehow make the coffee taste much better.
As I recall, camping's big downside was washing dishes in cold water. I trust that Meade heated enough water to wash them in. Now you will so appreciate your well equipped home that has probably been taken for granted.
"I'd pay a lot of money to be able to have those exact mugs in my home."
*Takes out Sharpie* *Writes "jaltcoh" on bottom of two mugs*
I think nothing of pitching a pup tent in the backyard and sleeping there with the pup.
I hope you didn't sleep outside the tent all night just to get that morning picture.
What's that silver thing at the right end of the table with the two cymbal shaped things?
And what's in the Macheros box?
wv: allne, an anagram of my first name
When you're camping, especially when you're new to it, you can't help asking yourself, "Could I keep myself alive by doing this for a substantial period of time, if there were no other alternatives?" Most people answer that question in the affirmative. And whether they're right or not in their prediction -- a prediction which for most folks will never be tested -- getting to the point where one can predict that "Yes, I could do this if I had to" is itself an accomplishment.
Congratulations. I hope you & Meade made sure to examine each other thoroughly for ticks when you got home. (It's not too late!)
Was your sleeping bag manufactured in Berkeley?
No. Maybe that's why my fingernails didn't turn black from the cold.
I love the smell of exhaust in the morning! It smells like...coffee.
Writes "jaltcoh" on bottom of two mugs
If jaltcoh was two heartbeats away from that pair of mugs, would you want them to be your heartbeats?
"I love the smell of exhaust in the morning! It smells like...coffee."
The tent is structured to fit around the rear door without including the tailpipes, but I was cracking jokes about how it looked like a death chamber!
"What's that silver thing at the right end of the table with the two cymbal shaped things?"
That's a Primus ClassicTrail stove. You stick it in one of those blue propane cannisters and get a gas burner that you can boil water on in a kettle or heat something in a pan. It worked great!
"And what's in the Macheros box?"
They look like macaroons, but they are firestarting things made of sawdust and paraffin.
"My first husband and I bought those at Conran's in NYC in the mid-70s. They represented for us an aesthetic that we were so enthusiastic about that we fantasized about opening a store that would have other things like that. The idea was that these were the absolutely standard items -- an antidote to all the 70s design that was making us sick."
Conran's was a great source for this kind of thing. I have a friend who worked there in the 70s and who has catalogs from the period. Terence Conran re-opened a store in New York City, right beneath the Manhattan side of the 59th Street Bridge. It was certainly pretty and carried a lot of nice items, but like so many late-90s-early-2000s revivals of what was once low-to-middle end design-oriented retail, they decided to turn it into high-end, high-priced retro-chic instead of staying true to the original aesthetic.
I'm really interested in that period of re-assessment of domestic objects, and a lot of the things in my home are of that solid, simple, functional and inexpensive aesthetic. There's a book from the period that I really like called High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book For the Home that is a nice chronicle of the aesthetic.
Thanks. I thought the those blue cans looked like they belonged with a camp stove, but since you also had a wood fire, I wasn't sure.
I looked up Macheros online and found a band by that name and a bunch of different sites in Spanish showing cigarette lighters, and a Bunsen burner, so I figured those might be wood/paraffin fire lighters.
Interesting that one of the hits was a map of Madrid showing Macheros store locations, and I thought, "Wow, Ann shops in Madrid?"
Instead of regaling you with my own anecdotes of camping, I will note that you've spent a lot of time outdoors this summer, which is not something you've shared much before. Canoeing an entire day, kayaking on Superior... One plus years into it, it really seems that Meade has been good for you. Awesome.
What did you do to your thumb/
I could chide you for yuppie style camping but, at least, you didn't use a camping trailer. It must be pretty chilly up there this time of year.
I just use a Melitta one cup cone coffee maker that sits on top of you cup, cost #2.99. I use it at home too. My coffee is always 100% fresh. You can by a larger size for $9.99. I got mine at Kroger's.
"There's a book from the period that I really like called High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book For the Home that is a nice chronicle of the aesthetic."
Yes, that was a tremendously important book.
I'm not sure the idea we had, which related to the past, completely connected to the high-tech trend, but the desire for an antidote to the 70s was the same.
Palladian, I wish you could meet Meade, who worked in traditional pottery at that time (at Jugtown. He and I were just trying to figure out whether I would have loved or hated or what the aesthetic that he was working with. I know you have great feeling for aesthetic traditions and the kind of instinctive revulsion for what is ugly about the new. I would love to talk about all that. Maybe some time soon, we'll be in NYC and we can confer.
I'd pay a lot of money to be able to have those exact mugs in my home. I always use them when I'm back home in Madison. They somehow make the coffee taste much better.
A reasonable facsimile available at Crate & Barrel
What is that goth nail polish?
"Instead of regaling you with my own anecdotes of camping, I will note that you've spent a lot of time outdoors this summer, which is not something you've shared much before. Canoeing an entire day, kayaking on Superior... One plus years into it, it really seems that Meade has been good for you. Awesome."
I hope I can inspire you men to find women who long for the kind of support and protection and encouragement that my beloved Meade has given me.
"What is that goth nail polish?"
It's this. A bit beat up after a few days...
"A reasonable facsimile available at Crate & Barrel"
I need to do a close-up photograph to show the thickness and texture of these mugs. It's something else.
@Palladian: I just paid more money to frame that photo print than I paid you for the art.
Something ain't right in America--but it's too typical IMO.
Not to be too particular, but actual Navy coffee cups dont' have handles...
My mother went to Jugtown and bought some white candlesticks and a vase, but it was before Meade's time (early 50's). When her Navy wives group called on Mrs. Mondale at the former CNO's house, she used a Jugtown piece on the mantel as a conversation starter.
Lord knows what my step-monster has done with the pottery. She told me today that her evil sister (who's just like her, only fat) lied her way into their condo and stole my grandmother's diamonds (which my grandmother did not want that bitch to have in the first place). At 90, Grandma got her number long before anyone else.
"Palladian, I wish you could meet Meade, who worked in traditional pottery at that time (at Jugtown. He and I were just trying to figure out whether I would have loved or hated or what the aesthetic that he was working with..."
That's awesome! I'm a ceramics and pottery enthusiast and I have great affection for simple wares in a utilitarian tradition. I have a very eclectic range of interests and I'm equally at home talking about 18th century Wedgwood or 20th century Bernard Leach. I had no idea Meade was a potter!
"I know you have great feeling for aesthetic traditions and the kind of instinctive revulsion for what is ugly about the new. I would love to talk about all that. Maybe some time soon, we'll be in NYC and we can confer."
Name the date and I'm available. We can drink coffee from my Wedgwood basalt ware and talk about aesthetics. I knew you'd know that book.
El Pollo Real, yeah, that's the nature of the game. I've framed things in the past for exhibitions and spent more on framing than I made after the gallery's 50% commission and taxes.
I'm glad you're happy with the photo!
Moose said...
Not to be too particular, but actual Navy coffee cups dont' have handles.
When I was a kid we had some coffee cups that looked almost exactly like Althouse's, except that they were more of a light brown color, not white. My dad, a former Lt. j.g. and executive officer on an LCT from 1943 to 1945 said they "were just like the ones he used in the Navy", handles and all.
Hate to say it, Althouse, but you still have not been camping. Getting closer, though.
David,
"Hate to say it, Althouse, but you still have not been camping. Getting closer, though."
Now, now, if there was no spigot or electrical outlet, I'll call it camping.
I have a list of things I'd like to take that includes a plug in percolator coffee pot to heat dish water, a rubbermaid step stool to act as a night stand in the tent, etc.
Palladian, in case you missed it, thanks for your link help.
Also, what's the largest size you can print your photographs to?
After my last comment You Don't Know Jacques! seems like the nail polish for me!
Actually, I have my heart set on Gimme Shelter by Nars....
hmmmm......
I hope I can inspire you men to find women who long for the kind of support and protection and encouragement that my beloved Meade has given me.
AND vice versa: women who can be inspired (against the anti-man feminist mantras) into accepting the loving support and protection of a MAN.
Ying and Yang. Both part of a team. One cannot exist without the other.
Good for you and good for Meade.
Althouse wrote; We brought the Aero Press that we use at home. Highly recommended!
Sounds like a good Christmas present for my wife. I do like to shop early.
Thanks!
wv "unshesch" Nietzschean code for "mansch"
" if there was no spigot or electrical outlet"
All we had was a place to back up the car and set up a tent and a fire ring and a picnic table.
There were bathrooms down the road.
Day 9, 2500 miles on the odometer, and still not home. In Sioux Falls SD at yet another $100/night hotel. That's how we're rolling on this trip though. Shoulda known joking about buffalo would comne back to bite me though, so to speak. Had a nice mini charge (bluff) getting something from the truck early a.m. in the parking lot at the Old Faithful Inn in my pajamas. Good times.
@Garage buddy:
Avoid those motel mini fridge charges at all costs: They suck and they rip.
Whole Foods sell coffee cups like in Ann's photo, they seem to have relatively thick walls that keeps coffee or other beverages warm. Only thing is those cups are labeled with the Allegro Coffee logo
And as for a camping specific espresso maker, check out the "Handpresso"!!!!
www.handpresso.fr
"Also, what's the largest size you can print your photographs to?"
Depending on the photograph, I print up to about 13 inches by 19 inches.
I used to have a beautiful little two person tent made with Goretex and a lot of backpacking and camping gear, including a 70 lb. Old Town canoe. Sadly I had it all on my old truck when I had a wreck. The truck caught fire and it all burned up, apparently. I was picked up by a passing car and taken to the hospital, so some later passer by may have just helped himself to the canoe and some of the stuff in the bed of the truck.
I loved that canoe.
Maybe you can relive those precious moments with a new tent and canoe.
Thank you Palladian for the link to the book. I just now got it for a whopping $4.58.
Enjoy it. It's a great book.
Ring of Fire.
I love that song.
Johnny Cash.
And they sing it in all the pubs in Ireland. Not sure why.
Press coffee works well camping. I use the cheapo IKEA press and it works great. Not designed for back packing though, but just fine for car camping.
Car camping is different and easier than backpacking, but it is still camping. When I camp with my family, sometimes I wonder if I'm going camping or moving. A minivan full of stuff, plus the bikes and canoe...Not exactly roughing it, I admit, but it still is fun.
The number of animal attacks on campers is grossly exagerrated by a sensationalistic press. In point of fact, many of these attacks turn out to have been by backwoods degenerates who mauled the corpses of their victims in order to make the crime look like a bear attack. Rest assured that your chances of perishing in a rabid bear attack are very small. As you lay on the cold, muddy ground in the dark, dark night absorbing the sounds of the forest, let that thought be your comfort.
not to pick nits out of photographs but i'm not have the car exhaust dump directly into the tent is such a hot idea...hide the keys Meade.
I hope I can inspire you men to find women who long for the kind of support and protection and encouragement that my beloved Meade has given me.
Those women may be rare, but those men are even rarer. This from one who found one -- of course, he was both extremes on every continuum, and was both a "male earth mother", as one friend put it, and a monster. But that's OK, the former was his bedrock. Why am I saying "was"? He's still alive, albeit in the hospital.
wvs unweisie (I typed that one wrong) and azzlis
rdkraus:
"Ring of Fire.
I love that song.
Johnny Cash.
And they sing it in all the pubs in Ireland. Not sure why."
Surprised me, but Ring of Fire lyrics are by June Carter, melody by Merle Kilgore. Great song.
Keep on the Sunny Side
"Ring of Fire lyrics are by June Carter . . . "
She lit the fire, so she got to write the song.
Nah, it was spontaneous combustion. :)
I hope I can inspire you men to find women who long for the kind of support and protection and encouragement that my beloved Meade has given me.
Yes, I consider myself one of the lucky ones.
As for car camping - it's definitely camping. I'm curious of your impressions and expectations. BTW, I'm putting that coffee press on my Christmas list - for home and camping, but will have to stick with the Starbucks instant for backpacking.
Maybe you can relive those precious moments with a new tent and canoe.
Not now. I have a slipped disk and Rheumatoid Arthritis. But it was fun while it lasted.
Well, everybody knows how I feel.
Hi, amba. My heart goes out to you.
Yes, my sleeping bag was manufactured in Berkeley. My parents brought two of the Snow Lions over to Germany in the 70ies. Compared to nowadays' state-of-the-art sleeping bag, they are quite heavy and bulky but I still use mine for those colder occasions when don't have to carry it in a backpack.
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