u/AlpineAngel

I saw these & love the style but have zero knowledge about functionality! Could these be remade into modern speakers or worth restoring? Advice please!

He’s been crazy into music most of his life (dob 1967) but has had to start his collection over several times. He has been a digital nomad for about a decade but we have decided to set up a home base now in central Mexico.

He has often expressed regret on everything he has given up, but just as much frustration/discouragement over having to start over AGAIN. Id like to give him a gift that would help inspire him. I had thought about looking for an old stereo cabinet but i did something similar about 12 yrs ago and thought these looked really coolago.

I’m still doing some fact checking but it looks like a furniture company in Mexico named Dixy (not to be confused with US company Dixie) started selling this almost exact design in 1960 — their line was also called Brasilia. Broyhill released theirs in 1962…

So who copied who? ChatGPT would argue that rather than one company copying the other, both may have independently drawn on the same architectural motifs. I find that highly implausible so now I’m trying to find a primary source catalog or advertisement to confirm the 1960 date.

Regardless of who copied who would you buy this gorgeous piece?

The original listing is in Spanish but here’s what Google Translate says it says:

Vintage Windsor Style Chair
Blacksmithing & Wood
Freshly varnished
Wide
Stockings 1.05m high x 55 cm wide

Thought maybe the “blacksmithing” just meant i painted it black, but when i put the photo into AI without mentioning anything - just hey AI what do you think,it said it looks like a Frankenstein chair (a little Windsor - Sheraton - Regency mix) which is what i was thinking too but then it said that looking at where the spindles meet the seat and the top piece that they are metal.

IF that is the case it’s gonna be a heavy ass chair. I like it but should i pay $250 for it? If no what would you suggest?

I separating a large group of birds of paradise, the first one snapped at the base.

So i reached out via email to several researchers at INECOL (Instituto de Ecología, A.C.), based here in Mexico, they are the primary authority on Mexican earthworm species and have published extensively on native vs. exotic varieties.

1st reply: The photographs of your worms are really interesting. It seems, by the shape of cocoons and the overall shape of the worms, that it belongs to a family not very common in Mexico, Rhinodrilidae. There are two or three species of this family that have invaded disturbed sites in the tropics but no information, to my knowledge, is published about this family in temperate Mexican sites.

2nd reply: Well if you have other questions we can have communication if I go to Guanajuato, I have family in -Guanajuato city we could meet.

The guy from the first reply has requested i send him samples. I’ll keep you all updated! I have to go back and dig for another one (my digging them up wakes them up from estivation😩) so I’ll try to take more pics.

I’ve been rooting cuttings off everything i have been able to get my hands on lately. I rent with plans to move in sept so ive been trying to avoid big pots. I’m not even 1/2 way through my plants - i have just been shoving them in “make it or break it” pots (if it needs special care, I’m not ready for those yet)…

Anyways does this already look too busy? Should i suck it up and go with more grouped containers vs individual specimen- style potting?

I have some orchid cactus that I’m going to get some hanging pots for. I havent a clue what I’m going to do with that stack of yucca & draconia (?) cuttings or the box of monstera/philodendron cuttings in my prop box.

Thought you guys might appreciate a few photos of these bad boys! Tested, and only a thin layer of dead eraser then perfect. I’m thinking i just need to rub them with some high grit sand paper to fix them - thoughts? They are too big for anything i currently have. Need to find the lead clutch/pencil they go to.

It’s so small… can’t figure out what it goes on. I have like 50 of them from a bulk buy of vintage drafting supplies.

Some beautiful pink peppercorns! Peruvian Peppertree (Schinus molle) is a staple of the landscape here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I love their old gnarled trunks & graceful, weeping branches. While often called a "peppertree," it is actually a member of the Anacardiaceae (cashew) family and is unrelated to true black pepper.

They transition from green to a vibrant, papery pink or rosy red when they are ready to be harvested. Pink peppercorns are favored by chefs for their unique flavor profile, which is more sweet and fruity than traditional black pepper, with a mild, lingering heat.

Hand harvesting is essential for pink peppercorns because of their physical fragility and the way they grow on the tree. Unlike black peppercorns, which are robust seeds, the "pep" of a pink peppercorn is actually a thin, papery husk surrounding a seed. The valuable pink outer shell is delicate and brittle once ripe. Mechanical harvesting or rough handling would shatter these husks, leaving you with just the hard inner seeds and "chaff," which significantly lowers their market value.

Pink peppercorns almost ready!!!

This is at my local plant place in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I think this is a dwarf type of fan aloe. They want an insane amount for it - just curious if it’s the “gringo” price… this is one of my #1 fav in photos but i know nothing about it.

I just bought these at a local nursery in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I have given up guessing on the pricing - some seems crazy high and some crazy low. First one looks like a variegated jade - i got it for less than 12, the second looks like something in between a jade and a chalk stick got it for about 9.

I got these from a local nursery here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Can you all help me identify them? Also good deal or no… 1st one $8.50, $5.75 & this third one i didn’t buy but i thought about it $32.

When i went to check on them just now his sac had opened on its own here is what i found inside. One sluggish but alive earthworm and one baby earthworm. I’ve never seen one that has had a “tounge” for lack of a better word.

Also, i guess I’m just going to put them in some of my potted plants. Thoughts?

It took me all day to find one, which means the 30 or so i found about 2 mo ago either died or woke up and wormmied off.

Thoughts?

I found the NOS motherload of leads, i bought a few but left the rest. On a scale of 1-10 how much will i regret no buying these when i had the chance. Obviously i could never use this much lead in my lifetime so i will be doing something other than keeping a lot of them. Thoughts?

Pretend that there are an infinite number of these items how much of each (if any) would you hate yourself forever for not taking?

The dixon lead is about 1/2 regular & 1/2+ green, blue, red & tinta (the blue-purple copying one). The boxes are mostly short but a few long.

Shaffer’s fine line is all graphite in different harnesses.

Parker leads are all graphite in different harnesses

Hi everyone,

I recently acquired a large amount of New Old Stock (NOS) vintage drafting supplies in Mexico City and I'm trying to identify these specific lead refills.

Among the haul were several small, hand-corked glass vials of 1.1mm leads. They have no visible branding or logos on the glass, but the leads themselves are notably smooth and appear to be factory pre-sharpened/pointed.

The Provenance/Context:

The rest of the cache was almost exclusively high-end German drafting equipment, including:

• A Johann Faber slide rule.

• A.W. Faber-Castell TK 9073 leads and mechanical pencils.

• Various other mid-century items from Sheaffer and Dixon (Mexican market packaging).

Given the heavy Johann Faber presence, I suspect these might be their signature "pocket refill" vials (possibly for the Apollo or Double-End holders) from the early 1900s, but I haven't found a matched set with labels to confirm.

A few details:

• Size: 1.1mm (Standard)

• Lead Quality: Very smooth, likely high graphite content/Bavarian production.

• Packaging: Glass vials with original corks, bundled with an old rubber band.

Does anyone recognize this specific vial style or corking? Would Johann Faber have distributed these without an etched logo during a specific era or for the export market?

Any insights into the age or specific model these were meant for would be greatly appreciated!