AS TIME GOES BY.....

THE LURE OF THE FIND:
EMPORIUM ANTIQUES

(Frederick, MD) -- Objects with a history and a past will never
be entirely sidelined by the new as long as there are thrift stores,
second-hand shops or antiques stores around.

Surely, spending an afternoon rummaging through one such store in
search of a special find or a bargain is a good way of engaging the
imagination in the fascinating after life of dispossessed objects.

Of course it helps to find a great antiques or thrift store to explore
and should you happen to be in Frederick, Maryland, Emporium
Antiques fits the bill in a grand and spectacular way. Housed in a
1912 historic warehouse, this wonderful store is home to more
than 100 dealers, all of them eager to capture your attention.

The place is gigantic and filled with an amazing selection of goods,
from costume jewelry, vintage clothing and housewares to books,
furnishings and ephemera. You would probably need to devote a
whole afternoon to be able to cover the entire place but even a
visit of a couple of hours can be great fun. You can be certain you
will find something to reward your endeavor.

This is a place with no walls, yet each dealer has a private space
that is personalized in such a way as to entice the visitor's
curiosity. Some spaces look like a person's living room, others
like a cosy bedroom, and while each area is crammed with items,
everything is clean and neatly arranged.

Items are, for the most part, in tip top condition and prices are
quite accessible, with plenty of bargains to be found.  Whether
you know what you are looking for or even if you don't, this is
a place in which to discover and rediscover the past or the near
past, even your childhood.

Open seven days a week, the Emporium Antiques is one
of many delightful places to visit in Frederick's downtown
area whose quiet streets are lined with well maintained colonial
brick homes and old churches. There are tree filled parks and
pretty stores to visit. If you get hungry, there are many good
restaurants to choose from and you can follow your meal by
taking a leisurely stroll along the lovely Carroll Creek Promenade.
Benches along the way invite you to rest and gaze at the pretty
lily pads in the water.


EMPORIUM ANTIQUES
112 E. Patrick Street
301.662.7099

Monday through Saturday 11 am - 6 pm
Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm

www.emporiumantiques.com

"Where is it written that
lives should have a meaning?"

Elena Ferrante

"The Story of the Lost Child"

 ☛ A SIMPLE TIP

No matter how much one tries to cut down on plastic,
there will always be products one uses that are marketed
in plastic containers.  Laundry soap is one. As an alternative
use, these containers make good water canisters. All you
have to do is cut the top off
and voilá, here's a sturdy and
easy pour can to water your
plants.

Photography by Juliette Blasor

"Don't you enjoy being alive?
Don't you like feeling:
This is me, this is my hand,
this is my leg, I'm real. I'm solid.
I'm alive.

George Orwell

"1984"

© 2017 LORRAINE BLASOR ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ✍

TIME FOR RESPONSIBLE CONSUMERISM

Artist Sherry Levine said it best with her pithy maxim: "I buy, therefore I am."  Consumerism is the way of the world. In the U.S., it is the economy's main prop, contributing no less than 70% of the nation's GNP. How ironic, then, that the very same consumerist way that sustains our economy is simultaneously wreaking havoc on planet Earth.

Global warming, the depletion of fish stocks in the oceans, the deforestation of forests, the contamination of land and water sources. The list is long and depressing. All these ills are sure to change life as we know it in coming years. No pretty picture of the future. As human beings and consumers we have an inherent responsibility to the planet that serves as our home. As the planet goes, so do we.

We need to be more discerning, less frivolous consumers. Buy what we need, instead of buying willy-nilly at the slightest excuse. Buy judiciously, choosing products that will offer if not a life-time of service, at least a good many years of  it. If you tire of an item, don't just throw it away; find out if someone else needs it, hold a swap meet with a bunch of your friends, or pass it along to a charitable organization, like the Salvation Army. Idem for clothing. 

When you can, buy fair-trade, meaning that the people who manufactured a product or put it together or worked on it receive a decent living wage. Support local farming. When shopping for produce, go for products that are grown right here on the island. You've heard about reducing your carbon footprint, well, this is one way of doing it. Produce that is grown locally doesn't need to be imported from faraway locales at a hefty expenditure for oil-guzzling transportation alternatives. Besides, the avocados, papayas, mangos, tomatoes, lettuce, lettuce grown in Puerto Rico are THE BEST IN THE WORLD! Earlier this year, Supermax introduced a fine, locally grown spinach.  More recently, the supermarket chain added bagged arugula and mesclun, both excellent and also locally produced. 

The ascetic life may not be for everyone and admittedly, there are times when a particular purchase goes a long way toward restoring our personal sense of wellbeing. But it doesn't need to be a brand new thing. Scouring thrift stores, for example, can be one of the most fun things to do, especially if you score a great find like a beautiful china cup for $1. Too bad that thrift stores are not popular in Puerto Rico as they are an excellent way of recycling a lot of goods that will otherwise end up in a garbage dump.




HEALTHY PAINTS FOR HOME OR BUSINESS

Turns out that humans or animals are not the only ones that exhale. Walls do too.

Regular paint, when applied to a wall, gives off fumes that can cause headaches, dizziness and nausea, which is why spaces are vacated until the paint is completely dry. It doesn't stop there. For a long time afterwards, paint releases low level toxic emissions into the air because of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used to boost the performance of the product.

New environmental regulations have spurred paint manufacturers to develop new paints and finishes with either zero VOCs (which actually means the VOC content is five grams or less per liter) or low VOCs, i.e., a content of no more than 200 g/l though the recommended threshold is 50 g/l . 

Even better are the natural paints and finishes now available which contain natural ingredients, ranging from plant oils, resins and minerals like clay to substances such as bees' wax and essential oils. Natural paints can be water or oil-based and emit very low odor.

Stateside consumers have, of course, a much broader selection of green paint options to choose from.  Look up eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_paints.htm  for a list of companies offering natural, zero and low-VOC paints.

Green paints are also available in Puerto Rico and, while the market is still young, designers and architects are turning to them for their projects, according to Eddy Pepen, city manager of Sherwin Williams in Puerto Rico.

Pepen said low or zero VOCs paints are ideal for businesses that cannot afford to paralyze their operations when painting up their facilities, such as hospitals and care centers for children or the elderly.  Another segment of the market is consumers addressing specific health needs. These include women who are pregnant or people suffering from asthma and allergies, according to Roberto Hernandez, vice president of Designer's Paint Corp., distributors of Benjamin Moore products in Puerto Rico where sprucing up the home with a new coat of paint is traditional at this time of year. In fact, the period between Oct. 15 -Nov. 15 accounts for about 30 percent of the island's $300 million in yearly paint sales, he said.

Benjamin Moore offers different green products, including two water-based, low-odor paints with zero VOCs:  Natura and Eco Spec. The company also offers a low VOC paint line called Aura (under 45 g/l) that features a patented color block system for brighter colors as well as a Super Spec line with a VOC content under 50 g/l. These products, including a low-odor epoxy, are available to consumers at the company's stores in Guaynabo, Roosevelt Avenue in Hato Rey, and Caguas.

Sherwin Williams, with 30 stores islandwide, offers various products with a low VOC content (under 50 g/l) and the zero-VOCs Harmony line it introduced on the island two years ago, said Pepen. 

Both Hernandez and Pepen extolled the quality and durability of green paints. Prices usually run 10 percent higher than for regular paints.




A SIMPLE TIP 

Silver can lose its luster over time but a simple trick can help to restore it:  All you need is soap and water. Add regular dish soap to water, heat it up in a pan, then transfer to a bowl. Soak the jewelry for a few minutes. Remove the item and buff it gently with a soft, clean rag. Voilá, almost like new. 




"Everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be." Marcus Aurelius



Duly Noted:  

-- Goop, the weekly online newsletter launched by Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, covers health, food, travel, fashion and more. Contributors, in addition to Paltrow, are experts from many different fields and their information is always interesting and useful. To subscribe go to Goop.com. 

-- Making the transition from refined white carbohydrates to much healthier brown carbs (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) can be tough on some people. If you love spaghetti, new products on supermarket shelves make this transition easier like Ronzoni's Healthy Harvest whole grain spaghetti and linguine. This very tasty pasta, a blend of whole wheat (whole grain flour) and semolina (refined durum wheat), contains 7 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per serving.  


"BECOMING IS SUPERIOR TO BEING." Paul Klee

Editor's Note: Thanks to Jane Hogg, in New York, and Lorelei Albanese, in San Juan, for their input in my search for a blog name. In the end, it was Bill Santiago's suggestion that won out. Santiago, an outstanding standup comedian who took some time off recently to sit down and write a very funny book titled "Pardon My Spanglish," performs regularly. If you are in New York on Dec. 9 and Dec. 11, head over to El Museo del Barrio and see him live as he presents his latest mixed-media endeavor titled "The Funny of (Latin) Dance." Tickets are free but you must get reservations.

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