Lost Cowboy

The other day I finally finished Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett. I say “finally” because at just about 1,000 pages in the print version, this is one long book and I have been picking at it for the past several weeks.

In addition to the satisfaction that comes with finishing a long novel, I now can’t wait for the third and final installment in Mr. Follett’s Century Trilogy. Winter of the World, the book I just finished, is the second in the series and takes off shortly after where the first book, Fall of Giants, left off.

I loved Fall of Giants and the families and character Mr. Follett introduced us to within its pages as they navigate the early days of the 20th century through the First World War. In Winter of the World, we meet the next generation of the families from the first book and pretty much follow them through World War II to the brink of the Cold War.

About Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett: “Ken Follett follows up his #1 New York Times bestseller Fall of Giants with a brilliant, page-turning epic about the heroism and honor of World War II, and the dawn of the atomic age. Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants, the first novel in his extraordinary new historical epic, The Century Trilogy, was an international sensation, acclaimed as “sweeping and fascinating, a book that will consume you for days or weeks” (USA Today) and “grippingly told and readable to the end” (The New York Times Book Review). ‘If the next two volumes are as lively and entertaining as Fall of Giants,’ said The Washington Post, “they should be well worth waiting for.” Winter of the World picks up right where the first book left off, as its five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, Welsh—enter a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.”

I am a big fan of Mr. Follett, who I think is a master storyteller, and his deft hand at weaving multiple stories together in epic detail are on full display in Winter of the World. However, I have found that the middle book (or movie) in a trilogy can’t truly be appreciated until the series is completed. More often than not it turns out the second part of the series is the best, but until then it is just a lot middle.

There is no doubt that Mr. Follett has great plans for the final book of his Century Trilogy as he has at least one fan primed and ready.

Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett is available from Amazon and other fine booksellers.

I don’t speak German, although several years ago I signed up for German classes and learned absolutely nothing, but I do like the products of WohnGeist, a fine German cabinet maker.

About WohnGeist: “The WohnGeist furniture workshop was founded in 1991 by Stefan Senn and has been expanding continuously ever since. Since 1995 WohnGeist has been a regular participant in the adjudicated special exhibition held by form forum schweiz at the MUBA in Basel. As a result, numerous new developments in furniture design and the successful furniture-style kitchen ‘La Cucina’ have become cornerstones of the WohnGeist product range. The stool/table ‘Ecco’, introduced in 2003 as part of a new kitchen accessories range, was awarded the prize ‘Complimenti!’ by the jury of the trades fair Ornaris. Combining ecologically aware production with perfect design and craftsmanship is a daily challenge and source of pride for the WohnGeist team. The production staff are supported by professional administration and design aids.”

WohnGeist makes wonderful products like this Whiskeyschrank – translation = whiskey cabinet, which includes a built in humidor for your cigars.

All the translation I need is Whiskeyschrank = perfection.

Checkout WohnGeist here.

I love honey. There I said it. I use honey exclusively as a sweetener in tea and the occasional recipe. I like to keep a variety of honeys on hand for entertaining as well. One of the best honeys I have found in recent times are the honeys of Bee Raw Honey.

About Bee Raw Honey: “Bee Raw Honey offers raw, unfiltered, varietal honey for the American table. We source our honeys from family-owned apiaries across the country, and each variety is derived from a single floral source, giving it distinct color, flavor and aroma. We’re committed to making premium varietal honeys more readily available to food lovers everywhere. Most honeys you buy in the grocery store are highly processed, stripping them of their natural flavor and goodness. We’d like to introduce you to honey as nature created it: raw, real and so pleasing to the palate that you’ll put away the imported honey bear for good.”

I’ve ordered Bee Raw’s Buckwheat Honey: “Bee Raw’s Buckwheat Honey is a stout and complex honey. It can be compared to other sweeteners such as sorghum or molasses. Hints of mossy earth and a not-so-sweet composition combine to develop a malty flavor with a pronounced bright finish.”

See all the products of Bee Raw Honey here.

Just in time for summer, I love this recipe for a lighter version of hummus: Chickpea-Yogurt Dip from Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe is simple: “Purée 1 small garlic clove, two 15-ounce cans chickpeas (rinsed), 1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tsp. Sherry vinegar, and a large pinch of ground cumin; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with olive oil, pomegranate seeds, and coarsely chopped fresh mint.”

It really is all easy at that, and you can play around with the ingredients if you have the basics. I mean, I don’t have, and have no intention of ever having, pomegranate seeds. But as long as you have chickpeas and yogurt you are pretty much good to go.

Find the Recipe for Chickpea-Yogurt Dip from Bon Appetit here.

Visit Bon Appetit’s great website here.

Today’s Favorite Find is a little different and unexpected: this little ceramic planter featuring an adorable little elf.

I saw this little guy peeking out from a table of junk at Todd Farm recently, and I just had to have him.

Seriously? Could you say no to this adorable face?

I am now on a search for a nice small succulent plant to complete this planter and make it perfect.

I just may redecorate my whole house to match him.

FF: The Salvage Furniture of Portland, OR-based Rejuvenation

The fine folks at Rejuvenation have a ton of great products inspired by – or salvaged from – days gone by. However, it is their line of salvaged and recommissioned furniture that I like.

About the Salvage Furniture of Rejuvenation: “Our one-of-a-kind salvage furniture is constructed in our Portland workshop from found industrial machinery and reclaimed wood from Oregon. We select from vintage i-beam trestles, machine parts, and even streetlamps for the bases, and then scour our selection of reclaimed wood slabs to craft the tops. In most cases, this wood is from deadfall or “scrap” trees that would otherwise be pulped or chipped; in others, the wood is salvaged from old beams. When designing these pieces, we choose and place each piece of wood to best feature its natural characteristics – eccentricities of grain, high figure, burl bark intrusions, and the like.”

See all the great products of Rejuvenation here.

FF: The Audubon Bird Call from Hickorees

I have featured various bird calls in the past and for some reason I just like them. It is funny, as I really don’t care for birds themselves. Maybe I like bird calls because they are essentially tools designed to attracted birds so you can shoot them out of the sky. Pull!

Anyway, today I am featuring the Audubon Bird Call, a classic, which I found at Hickorees.

About the Audubon Bird Call from Hickorees: “The Audubon Bird Call is a classic, simple birdwatcher’s tool with a 60 year history. Invented by Roger Eddy in 1947, its success was immediate and its production ran parallel to Mr. Eddy’s other accomplishments: four published novels, several terms in the Connecticut state legislature, and maintaining a successful produce farm outside of Hartford. The Bird Call is made from cast zinc and birch wood in Rhode Island (the metal ring still reads ‘NEWINGTON CONN’ in honor of the factory’s original location). It doesn’t mimic specific birdcalls but rather creates a tweeting noise that curious birds recognize and investigate.”

See all the great product from Hickorees here.

FF: Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.

I love just about everything there is about Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.

I love their Radar Sconce: “Our Radar Sconce was inspired by a light originally used on an industrial parts washer. Utilitarian simplicity; we loved it. When sourcing parts, we stumbled upon a 1970s stamped electrical box from one of our East Coast vendors that had the vintage tooling but hadn’t used in decades. We crushed hard on all the stamped details, including a cross, risk-of-fire warning, and wattage rating on the canopy box face.”

I also like their Utility Stool: “Built to last, this industrial-strength, welded steel stool can be put to work in any room of the house. Crafted in the USA. Available in Persimmon, Sergeant Green, Machine Gray or Factory White.”

See all the wonderful products of Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. here.

FF: The Reclaimed Wood Chalkboard Tablet from Cog & Pearl

Who needs an iPad when you can have the totally awesome Reclaimed Wood Chalkboard Tablet from Cog & Pearl.

About the Reclaimed Wood Chalkboard Tablet from Cog & Pearl: “Made from reclaimed oak, once part of an old steel mill in Philadelphia, leather that once belonged to a soldier’s spats in WWII, and chalkboard paint. The board is sanded smooth though may show signs of the wood’s prior use such as nail burn holes, nails, bug holes etc. The back and sides are finished with natural tung oil and the sides are beveled. There is a hole in the top for hanging. The optional reclaimed oak stand ($15) makes a perfect alternate home for a Chalk Tablet. This 1918 oak originated from the bleachers of Liberty High School in Northeast Philadelphia. This perfect list-sized tablet will replace any number of scraps on desktops, refrigerators, bedside tables etc. Each tablet comes with one Koh-I-Noor chalk pencil.”

See all the “handmade stuff” of Cog & Pearl here.

If there is one thing of which I have too many, it’s dressers. Well, really it’s warts, but for the purpose of today’s post, let’s just say it’s dressers.

In the house where I am currently living – my parents’ old home that is being prepared to sell – there are several legacy dressers (bureaus, chests of drawers, etc.) that are remnants of our family’s bedrooms over the years. Many of these dressers are very plain wood pieces that have been painted multiple times. These dressers are very common so they are not really something that could be sold easily.

I have often thought that with a little time and ingenuity these plain pieces of furniture could be turned into standing works of art. I have seen many treatments for turning plain old dressers into something cool, but most of them involved a lot of work and considerable talent with paint. However, I recently came across plans for making a poster art dresser on the HGTV website.

About HGTV’s plans for Poster Art Dresser: “Give a boring dresser a fresh look by decoupaging your favorite vintage poster right on the front. Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza have some easy ideas for dressing up old furniture. They use French poster art to add serious style to a boring dresser, give a plain table a stunning mod design and chill out with a distinctive fridge that will look cool in any dorm room. Give a boring dresser a quick new look by sticking your favorite vintage poster right on the front.”

I have the dressers and plenty of decoupage, now I just need to find the right poster. Would my classic boyhood Farrah Fawcett poster work?

See how you can make a poster art dresser here.

I love flipping through travel guides old and new, even when I have no plans to visit the place they describe. I have mentioned before that I keep a small library of travel guides in the upstairs “reading room” (aka bathroom) and end up learning new things about old places all the time.

Travel guides run the gamut from basic (just listings of places and things) to detailed journals of experiences. Somewhere in the between are the Wildsam American Field Guides, a planned series of guides that aim to flesh out a locale to ensure you get a true feel for the place.

About Wildsam American Field Guides: “Launched in the fall of 2012, Wildsam is a series of American field guides, small books with a lot of soul, packed with local lore, interviews, a cultural almanac, vignetted memoirs, a best-of list, hand-drawn maps, and much more. Our books are equal parts travel guide and tribute, for both weekender and native alike.”

First up, is Wildsam American Field Guide to Nashville: “Part almanac, part urban lore, part best-of, part memoir, the first Wildsam Field Guide focuses on Nashville, Tennessee, once monikered Gunpowder City, origin of cotton candy and Cracker Barrel, northern end point to the Natchez Trace. The field guide explores all of that and more. From illustrated maps of comfort food and music stops, to stories from Rosanne Cash, Tony Earley and Senator Bill Frist, Wildsam digs deep to find the taproots of the Music City.”

Coming soon is the Wildsam American Field Guide to Austin and then, who knows, there are plenty of places to go.

Learn more about Wildsam American Field Guides here.

A dear friend of mine was recently commenting on her neighbor’s selection of a new mailbox – something about a cow or lighthouse or whale. Anyway, we all know the type of mailbox she means, the kind that seems to bring down all the property values in the hood.

However, a good mailbox can be a positive statement for your home and community, which is why I love Architectural Mailboxes

About Architectural Mailboxes: “A decorative residential mailbox is the ultimate way to enhance the exterior of a home. Secure, stylish and spacious, Architectural Mailboxes has been providing quality residential mailboxes on the market for decades. Our decorative, award-winning designs can be found gracing some of the country’s finer residences and have been featured on nationally televised home makeover shows.”

I like Architectural Mailboxes’ Elephant Trunk Parcel Drop: “The elephantrunk™ parcel drop is the best solution for parcel deliveries. The elephantrunk™ is always home even when you’re not, providing you with peace of mind that your parcel deliveries are no longer missed or go missing. This full service receptacle can receive multiple parcels, has an outgoing partition for your outbound shipments and a vacation stopper for when you don’t want to receive parcels. Its sturdy design is made from cast aluminum and heavy gauge steel powder coated in four decorator friendly colors, black, red, white and oil rubbed bronze to match most environments. It embodies a variety of architectural styles and adds a splash of curb appeal.”

I like the Elephant Trunk Parcel Drop as it seems no matter what I never seem to be home when my packages arrive. Now only if I could get home delivery of my regular mail…

Learn more about Architectural Mailboxes here.

Seriously, I think the cigar box guitars of the appropriate named Soundbox Guitars are just about the coolest things I have ever featured on Lost Cowboy.

I love cigar boxes, and have used many in my own art projects. However, I have never seen cigar boxes put to better use than these great Soundbox Guitars. Not only are Soundbox Guitars functioning instruments, they are works of art.

About Soundbox Guitars: “My hand-made cigar box guitars are fully playable guitars that capture the authentic sound of that down home, front porch delta blues. Not just playable, but also a piece of art that looks just as good on your wall as it does in your hands. People will ask about it, wonder what it could possibly sound like… and that’s when you take it down and start strummin’. Your style and technique will get stripped down to the bare essentials. These guitars are meant to be played with a slide in an open tuning for that true blues sound, (I like open G or A, and there are hundreds of other open tunings). When you put a slide on your finger and start playing, the sound of the delta blues just comes out naturally.”

I have made up my mind to invest in a Soundbox Guitar and am waiting to see just which one will fit best in my collection. I am pretty good at smoking cigars, now if I could only learn to play a cigar box…

Learn more about Soundbox Guitars here.

Visit the Soundbox Guitars shop here.