Court Noxon Metalsmiths Roo Chair - Canadian boardroom classic

So Big Up! to the CDR site for posting the link to the awesome Court Noxon website. It's really inspiring, there was so much cool stuff that came out of the Metalsmiths studio. I don't think any of the Metalsmiths is marked, so you have to know what you're looking for. The site has been a great resource, most personally for the fact that it led to the identification of a set of 5 Metalsmiths 922 Roo chairs that we purchased at our local radio station's fundraising garage sale! We got all 5 chairs for a total of $5. When you pick these chairs up you know they're quality pieces - they are so freakin' heavy. "The flexible frame is cold rolled steel with polished chrome or oxidised bronze finish."  The upholstery on them is a bit saggy but is otherwise perfect. I sent a couple of emails to the Metalsmiths site since and have found out that these chairs are still in production. One of the original finish options for the metal was black chrome - I need some of that in my life...

Bird Feeder Wars - episodes 3 & 4

So, I'm obsessed with my bird feeders. They have provided me with untold stoner hours of sitting zoning out looking out the windows. I recently shattered the glass panel on this feeder because I was throwing rocks (badly) at a squirrel that would not leave. Bastard.

At first this spring, I thought the couple of chipmunks and red squirrels that would come to eat were cute and a part of my garden ecosystem. Well that may be true (the jury's still out on that one), they are pigs. They sit at the feeder for hours, filling their cheeks, running away and then coming back 30 seconds later for more. While they're there, they scream and frighten all the birds away.

I didn't have it in me to load up the red Rider BB gun and get to blasting. So I started out using sections of old stovepipe. This didn't work. They chipmunks would burrow under the rim and then scamper up the pole, the squirrels would just leap right up over it onto the pole.

Now we come to episode 3 (sorry no pics on this one). I read that you can 'spice' up your birdseed as birds can't sense spicy tastes and all mammals do. I coated a big batch in cheap Chinese chili oil. It was a gross process. It did seem to work however, and after 2 days I removed the stovepipes and the chipmunks seem to have left. Yay! Until the next time I did my next batch I guess I didn't use enough oil because all the varmits came back. Even more than before! Arrgh. I tried a few more batches with varying results. But it was a pain to mix the stuff up every time.

At this point I thought about abandoning the birds altogether, we have been going through a 20-pound bag of sunflower seeds every 3-4 days and it was starting to cost too much. But the birds that have been showing up have been awesome! We've been getting large development teams (that's what they're called btw) of House Finches recently. They're so cool, they eat their weight in mosquitos every day! . Also we have a family of four Hairy Woodpeckers that eat exclusively at our backyard feeder. I needed to keep feeding all these guys.

I looked for new squirrel proof feeders and feeder 'baffles' at the great Lee Valley Tools site, and all the shit was so expensive! Fuck that, I'll go the cheap hillbilly route and build my own.

Ta-fucking-Da! I took a flimsy pot that some plants came from the store in, cut a small slit in them and threaded them over the feeder poles. And you know what? They have worked like magic! I filled all the feeders and after 2 weeks, they still are half full with seed. Not a single beast has been able to make it by its defenses. It's not the prettiest, but it works like the bomb. All the squirrels and chipmunks have moved on. Suddenly there are none. Hooray!

Baribocraft Salt & pepper Mill

We use this badboy every day. It's got better action than the Quistgaard mill we scored at the same Pembroke Value Village. This was cheaper ($1 vs. $2), and it's Canadian, so it's much cooler. That's that.

The Futurfone Phone

The Futurfone. Made in Taiwan in the 1980's. In the 'free' pile from a weekend garage sale.

Baribocraft Slate Cheese Cutting Board Tray - Baribocraft The Leading Name in Woodenware

You'll see old hammered dryed-out wooden Baribocraft bowls in pretty much every Salvation Army housewares section across Canada. Rarely, if ever, does it make the cut. Here's my exception: this awesome slate cheese tray cutting board that came out of a westside Ottawa thrift. $5. The best part was the original tags were lying on top. 

There's a good link to the back story on Baribocraft here.

Handmade Fox Feeding Tray Table new back porch Bar

We copped this nice mint green handmade wheeled table at a local garage sale over the weekend for $10. The lady who sold it to us said it was made by the the local furrier, Mr. Zummach,  who used the table daily to wheel out the food to all the foxes in the pens. I love the iron support struts, and the great colour. It's going to get set up on the back porch as the bar once we get new screened-in windows.

Swedish Midcentury Rocking Chair - score of the month

 

This chair warrants a new category - score of the month! The chair is June's score of the month. Sonya scooped this for $20 (negotiated down from the sales tag price of $50) at 2:00 in the afternoon on her 2nd round of garage sales on June 6th (the car was full and the wallet was empty so she had to re-up). The German lady who was selling it said she had bought it while she a student in the early 60s and had carted it around with her for 40 years, and now she decided it was too big for her house (thanks lady!). She said it came from Sweden. I can't get over how awesome this chair is. It's the most comfortable thing I've ever sat in. The proportions are superb, it just feels great. Ka-ching! Score of the month.

1950's GE General Electric Boat Spotlight

We scored this nice streamlined GE boat lamp for $2. It needs to be rewired, but then I might use it in the record room I'm building in the basement.

E. Sewell 1962 naive amateur portrait Painting

We got this great painting for $2 on the July 1st weekend at a local volunteer fireman's garage sale fundraiser. It's signed 'E. Sewell 1962'. I love its white wood frame.

1940's vintage Gas Can

$2 from last week's garage sales

Pair of Thonet No.14 Bentwood cafe Chairs

It was 1/2 price Wednesday at the Ottawa Goodwill. I can't believe this set was still there at 2:30, and it was $9.99 for both. I believe they're Thonet No.14 cafe chairs, they have a very light stencil mark on their underside. Yay Thonet!

Canadian Office and School Furniture Limited wooden Chairs

We got this nice pair of chairs last weekend garage sailing. They're marked "Canadian Office and School Furniture Limited, Preston, Canada" on their bottoms. These chairs are seriously solid. They have rod supports in the runners, very heavy-duty. 

Vintage Handmade Cowhide Throw Pillow

$1 at the Prospector in Pembroke

Chalkware Bulldog & German Shepard dog banks

I believe these banks were giveaways from the old-school country fairs that are common out in Eastern Ontario. So far these are our two best behaved dogs. We got the Bulldog, Herman, at the Prospector, in downtown Pembroke, which went out of business last year, for $20. The German Shepard, Prince, came from a a small junk store on the other side of Algonquin Park, which is also out of business. Prince was $20 as well.

DYI Bird Feeder & Bird Bath Project - episode 2

So, I haven't done much posting of late - very sadly, my awesome Dad has become super-sick and is probably going to die sometime soon, so being with my family has been my main focus. But posting on this blog is fun, and I could use a bit more fun in my life these days. Another thing that's provided us with a lot of enjoyment so far this summer has been our bird feeders and bird bath. I sit for long stretches looking at the window at all the action that takes place.

We scored this feeder for a dollar at a garage sale last year. I stuck the section of stovepipe at the bottom because I read somewhere that it would stop the squirrels and chipmunks from climbing up. Fat chance! They leap over it and shimmy up the pole faster than Edwin Moses at a free prostitute giveaway. I guess I need another section of pipe. It's amazing how much sunflower seed these rats with fuzzy tails eat every day. Oh well, I guess we're supporting a whole ecosystem so for right now, they all get a pass. Sonya and I talk daily about getting out the BB gun and starting a chipmunk/squirrel graveyard in the back, but so far, I haven't been able to embrace my inner serial murderer (must watch more Dexter...) so for now, they can live.

This is feeder No.2, the pipe is slightly longer and the chipmunk thieves seem to leave this one more or less alone. It's a favorite of the bluejays and grackles because of its close proximity to our big cedar hedge. They snag their food and retreat to the safety of the hedge to eat.

Somewhere I read that bird baths (and moving water) attract more birds than feeders do. So far they bath has been somewhat accepted & utilized by our feathered friends, but not as much as I'd like. I put the water jug with a hole punched in the bottom to keep a drip going and several of the birds sit directly beneath the drip for the outdoor shower effect. The chipmunks drink out of it as well. I'm pretty impressed with how many different birds drop by in a day for a drink and a bath. I'm thinking about something larger with a solar powered pump for next year.