There’s a flea market just down the road from us. It’s not the kind I remember from childhood, with fake leather boots, airbrushed t-shirts, rows and rows of new, cheap shiny things. This one is an antique flea market. You can find anything there. Any strange object that you can imagine, will one day show up at this flea market. The sellers always seem so Dickensian. I wonder about their lives – how far they’ve travelled, how they’ve come across all of these treasures, how much of their history is packed into their vans and pick-up trucks. And every object could tell a story. From old happy meal toys, two for a dollar (my poor boys aren’t ever going to go to an actual McDonalds) to super-8 cameras, ottomans, settees, paintings, scooters, antiquated medical equipment, old woodworking tools, beads, baubles, entire family photo albums, magic lantern slides, daguerreotypes… And of course, vintage military supplies. Knives, uniforms, binoculars, shell cases, canteens – all camouflage and olive drab and khaki. It always makes me think of Tom Waits’ Soldier’s Things…

A tinker, a tailor
A soldier’s things
His rifle, his boots full of rocks
And this one is for bravery
And this one is for me
And everything’s a dollar
In this box

When I was little I wanted to write a story that juxtaposed scenes in a museum, of armor or weapons, with scenes of those weapons being used – the actual story of the people that killed with them, or died by them. Maybe I will some day!

My favorite thing to find at the flea, lately, is china. Mismatched, cracked, beautiful plates and bowls. Well, on mothers’ day, David bought me a cake plate! I’m so excited! I’ve never had one, and this one is a beauty. From the fifties, maybe. Lovely, milky translucent form, with a foot, and a sweet silvery-gold polka-dot fleur-de-lis pattern. Of course I had to make a cake! We had two extremely ripe bananas. I wanted to do something a little different with them. I thought about one of David & Malcolm’s favorite sandwich variations – banana and peanut butter. And the rest is history!!

Tom Waits – Soldier’s Things

1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup) softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
pinch cinnamon
2 very ripe bananas, smashed & squished
1/4 cup (+/-) milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375

Cream the butter with the sugar till it’s well-mixed and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs, and beat well after each. Mix in the peanut butter, beating thoroughly. Add all of the dry ingredients, and mix well. Add the mashed bananas. Depending on your banana-size, you may need to add about 1/4 cup of milk, to make the batter as moist as it should be. You want it to be thick, but you shouldn’t have to break your arms trying to stir it. Thick but light, is what we’re going for.

Bake for about 40 minutes, till the top bounces up when you press it lightly. Let it cool a minute before you cut it.