Life Happens!

In January, I made a list of business goals for the new year -- one of them was to write a blog post at least 2 times a week and post on Facebook daily.  Well, LIFE HAPPENS, and I haven't posted here since the end of April!

Sometimes, thrifting, blogging and posting needs to take a back seat to taking care of the family, the home and the yard!  Mixed in with family stuff, I've done a little shopping -- gone to some flea markets and estate sales and even took a road trip to Kentucky.  I'll tell you about those adventures in a few 'time warp' posts soon (going backwards in time instead of forward).  In the meantime, here's a snapshot of what's been taking all my attention.

Yard & Garden:
We have a BIG vegetable garden -- 50' x 50'.  This year, we had all of our raised beds topped off with compost and then we got to work covering them, planting them and mulching.  I made one final change (hopefully) and enlarged the herb bed in the middle.  I added a windmill that I got at an estate sale last year and used china plates as the border.  I saw this on Pinterest (the source of all cool ideas!) and liked the look.

I collected thrift store plates of all colors for the last 2 years, but have decided that I like the blue and white look the best.  So I'll be slowly replacing all the odd-colored plates with blue and white.  I also really like the staggered look of dinner plates at the back and salad plates at the front.  Here's how it turned out...

The new bed with the old plants -- first day after transplant

Plates...before

Plates...after

Right before I finished planting the last few beds

I use tulle to keep the bugs and bunnies out until the plants are established

FINALLY it's all planted!

Babies...
Our second grandchild was born last week -- a little boy!  We got to have his 17 month-old sister for 3 days while mom and dad were at the hospital.  What fun and what a blessing!  We all had a blast, but we were ALL tired and ready for a rest.

New baby brother -- 6 hours old!

Breakfast before we go to meet baby brother

Family...
We went to Bowling Green, Kentucky for our daughter-in-law's ordination and to spend time with her family.  I did some shopping on the way down and back -- there are some great malls and shops in Kentucky (more on that later!)

This week, all of our 'little' family got together -- a rare treat that hasn't happened in over a year!  My son from DC and his wife and the son from Florida and his girlfriend all came into town to meet the new baby and have a mini family reunion.  We've had a wonderful time talking, laughing, hanging out and eating, along with sitting in the living room watching a 17 month-old little girl play with stuffed animals and dance around.  It's amazing how entertaining that can be!  Is it any wonder that first grandchildren are spoiled?

Hopefully, next week I'll get back on track -- I'll do some 'throwback' posts about the flea markets, sales and malls I've been visiting and show you some of the cool finds!  I might not make it to 2 posts a week, but I've got to do better than one every 2 months!

Pyrex as a Learning Tool -- Start Them Young!

We have one cabinet in the kitchen with glass doors where I keep all a little of my Pyrex, Coronation & kitchen glass collection.   Ever since my granddaugher (now 13 months) was old enough to hold her head up and look around at things, I've carried her over there and shown her the all the goodies inside. At about 6 months, she started really paying attention, but I didn't realize until this past week how closely she'd been watching.

I open the cabinet and say 'Pyrex!' and then start on the primary set first (don't all Pyrex collectors?)... 'Yellow, green, red, blue  (then, moving to the right) -- turquoise, pink and Flamingo pink!'  I take out the 'There'll Always be an England' glasses and the Coronation glass and the little flamingo on the bottom shelf and show them to her.  If I forget to go back to the little maple leaf cream and sugar on the bottom shelf and say 'yellow', she points to them to remind me.  I think it's a good way to teach colors (though her parents think it's pretty funny that I've been teaching their baby turquoise and flamingo pink).

So, last week, Mr. KV was holding her in another part of the kitchen and I said something about Pyrex and she turned around, looked right at the cabinet and started grinning!  If you ask her 'Where's the Pyrex?', she immediately looks at it and gets excited.  Only 13 months, just starting to walk and talk and she already knows the good stuff -- that's smart!

I can see a great time treasure hunting with my little buddy in the future -- I'd better save a granny cart for her!

The BIG News -- a LITTLE Girl!

I haven't posted in a while, which seems to be the norm of late.  I haven't been junking much and so I really haven't had much to share.  My New Year's intention is to post at least twice a week and, now that life is slowing down after the holidays, I think I'll really get to it.  But on the other hand, life might just be getting a whole lot busier!

Since everything posted on the internet lives forever, I've always been hesitant to share very much personal stuff here, trying to reserve the blog for fun things I find and repurposing projects.  But I feel like those of you who read and comment all the time and whose blogs I read all the time are friends -- I feel like I know you, even though we've never met (and probably never will).  AND sometimes, you just have to share good news with our friends!

On Tuesday afternoon, little Gracie came into our family!  The little one who started life in our family of jokers as 'Whozit' (because we didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl) is now a part of our family history.  How cool is that!  As a mother, you try to imagine what it will feel like for your baby to have a baby, but nothing prepares you for the reality!

What a wonderful blessing birth is!  It's hard to imagine that a year ago, she didn't even exist (except in what my family has always called 'God's pocket').  Seeing those tiny hands and feet, fingernails and eyelashes reminds me just how fragile, precious and miraculous life is!  (It sounds so cliche, but it's so true...)

Mother, baby (and daddy) are all doing fine and are now back at home settling into a new routine.  I'm sure that MY routine will be changing, too, and I can hardly wait!  I promised not to make her an internet baby, but I can't help but share one picture...

A Crazy Two Weeks!

I haven't posted in a while -- it's been a crazy, up-and-down two weeks.

It started with a trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky for my son's wedding.   Mr. KV and I went two days early so we could help out if they needed us.  We stopped on the way down at Jeffrey's Antiques in Findlay, Ohio (one of my favorites) and I found a few treasures.  We ate at Skyline Chili (always a requirement on any trip through a state that has them).

On Thursday, we had the afternoon free, so I dragged took Mr. KV on a 'typical' junking expedition.  Since Bowling Green is a college town, there are LOTS of consignment and thrift shops -- we weren't able to get to even half of them.  We went to Salvation Army (a real hole -- almost empty and totally filthy), St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, Volunteers of America and a consignment shop called Grandma's Attic.  Grandma's Attic was so dirty!  It had all the dirt and atmosphere of a picker's sale, with none of the goodies.  Mr. KV was so grossed out that it made me laugh (he should see some of the sales I go to...)!

This pic makes Grandma's Attic look much better than it really is!

The gem of the junk-hunting trip was Junkyard Gypies.  If you're ever in Bowling Green, be sure to stop there -- it was marvelous!  I got quite a few things, including a couple of Mexican themed tablecloths and some Pyrex.

Junkyard Gypsies -- this entire house is FULL!

Oh, yes, we also had a wedding...

The ceremony was lovely, the reception was a blast and now the happy couple is on their honeymoon in Iceland (yes, you read right...Iceland)!  Not the typical honeymoon site, but it's got it all -- mountains, waterfalls, hot springs to swim in, puffins, whales and romance.

The newlyweds were able to hang around in Bowling Green for an extra day and a half before the honeymoon, so we got to spend some time together with them and my other two sons and their wife & girlfriend.  It was a rare treat for the 8 of us to be together, since we're scattered across the country.

I came home from BG on Memorial Day with what I thought was allergies -- I figured something was blooming there that we didn't have in Michigan.  By Tuesday afternoon, I realized I was sick -- I was down all the way through Sunday with a cold/flu.  I forced myself out of the sickbed to go to Greenmead Flea Market, since it's one of my favorites and it won't come again until September.  I found some great stuff there, too, but that's another post.

So, that's what's been going on with me!  Now I need to catch up on what all of you have been doing.

I now Pronounce You 'Man & Wife'!

Well, it's Thursday and the wedding is over and the newlyweds are safely (except for a sprained wrist) on their honeymoon. There was a point last week when I wondered if we would all survive the big event, but we did!

As much as I'd love to jump right back into to thrift-treasure posts, the good-mom in me just has to share a little about THE WEDDING.

From Wednesday afternoon on, this yard was just a beehive of activity!  The tent (complete with side-walls, tables, chairs, dance floor, and linens) was supposed to be here on Wednesday at noon.  Without  going into too much detail, I'll just tell you that it all arrived in 3 stages over 3 days, with the LINENS arriving on Friday afternoon.  Needless to say, the bride was not happy (and was really just a step or two above frantic)!

The tent on Thursday morning

The tent on Friday morning

The new dock (complete with the groom and best man fishing on Thursday afternoon) 

There were so many people in our house on Friday and Saturday, getting things ready, running errands, getting showers, getting 'beautified' and changing clothes (I estimate 15-18), that you could barely move. At one point about an hour before the wedding, I walked past a young man who'd obviously just showered in our basement bathroom and I had absolutely NO idea who he was! I just smiled and said hi!

Here's the funny part -- I grew up in a household where my mom would freak out if she even had 4 people over for dinner, unless they were very close friends.  Every entertainment was a major event, causing so much tension and upset that it just wasn't worth doing it.  My husband (and his family) couldn't be more opposite -- they love nothing more than opening up their home to people.  Thankfully, I've learned a lot from him in 35 years and have gotten much more relaxed about it all.  Still, my sister said no less than 6 times on Saturday night, "I can't believe you did this!  Our mother would be amazed!"  Well, I'm amazed, too!

The weather was absolutely picture-perfect... 75 and sunny, with a light breeze, a brilliant blue sky and big fluffy movie-clouds.

At about 11:00, the 'venue' was ready and that's when I shot these pictures:

Even the scarecrow dressed up for the wedding

The gate & flowerbed leading to the garden

This picture and the one above are the bed where we had 3 dead pines removed.  The flowers were hanging baskets I bought on Wednesday!  As a thrifter/hoarder, I had plenty of containers for them...

This bed was completely dug up, 'repaired' and the plants replanted.  They didn't come back very well, so they were helped along with some annuals.

The inside of the tent on Saturday

No venue is complete without the 'necessaries'

50 to100 guests sat (and stood) by a 275+ year-old oak tree as my son & his bride were married.  It was his special request to be married there because of the age and strength of the oak (pretty neat imagery, I think).

The wedding site & the old oak tree

I got as far back as I could
and you still don't get a feel for how big the tree is

The reception was in the tent between our barn and garden and about 125 people were there for that.  We celebrated the bride & groom, at cookout food, wedding cake and danced the night away.

I had cleaned out the chicken coop on Tuesday and it's a good thing I did -- lots of people wanted to see the girls and get their picture taken with them.  It was sort of a poor man's photo booth!  Between the loud music, extra light, 'tourists' in the hen house and people walking back and forth, the girls were NOT amused!

I can still hardly believe that we actually hosted a wedding here!  I was busy Saturday night being 'mother of the groom' and didn't take a single picture -- fortunately, we have the wonder of Facebook!  Within an hour there were pictures online that I could grab for this post.

The happy newlyweds

First dance as man & wife

As a parting shot, I'll share THIS parting shot -- it's one of my favorites and the one I thought they should use for an engagement picture.  That's Sylvia, the world's sweetest dog, in the foreground!

A Wonderful Treasure (and a Busy Weekend)!

I've been trying to stay true to my commitment not to buy as much -- I think that's much more realistic than a vow to not buy ANYTHING!  How could I ever have thought I could quit thrift shopping cold turkey?

I've been picking up things here and there at the local thrift store, resale shops and one or two local junk stores, but mostly have been waiting for estate sales.  There were two sales close by this past weekend, so I was able to hit them and still go to the booth and fluff.  The first one was very close and looked like it was almost 100% new.  I go to those anyway when they're close, because you never know what the dealer doesn't take pictures of -- it might be a hidden treasure!  That one was a real frog -- all I found were 2 red dish towels with hand appliqued chickens on them.

 The owner of the house was there along with the estate sale company people, and she kept talking to everyone and trying to 'sell' the items.  It was really uncomfortable!  I was able to ask her, though, about the towels and she said her grandmother had made them as a young woman.  Judging by her age (60s) I think that dates them to the 1940s.

On Saturday, I went to a sale that was run by a friend and her sisters and cousin (it was fun to meet her family and see how much alike all those sister were).  They'd lost a dear aunt in December and they were settling her estate.  She was a lot like my Aunt Gene --  she had no children, so these women were just like daughters to her.  It was really bittersweet for them because she'd died rather suddenly and they were still hurting, but they wanted to have some closure to her condo and the belongings that they hadn't wanted to take.  I got there right before they opened and there were only 3 of us there because the weather was awful -- I got to have first pickings!   I was really pleased to be able to support my friend and her family and also get a few things to use that belonged to her dear aunt. 

Here are pictures of what I got -- but be sure to look all the way down because I've saved the best for last!

A couple of Pyrex pieces (not in the best condition), a Fire King casserole, 4 cool plastic egg cups, a turquoise coffee canister and even a turquoise bottle opener.  The 'turquoise fairy' definitely visited my house this weekend!

A bunch of hankies and some odds & ends.  The old birthday candles (from the 50s) were inside the coffee canister.

A cool galvanized basket and some linens -- not in good condition, at all, but at $2 for the whole lot, it's worth taking a chance

A shabby cream colored train case -- beat up, but I like it!

A Syracuse Carefree china sugar bowl and Boonton melmac platter

A pair of 1950s souvenir salt & peppers from Florida -- Flamingos!

And here's the best buy of the weekend (maybe of the whole year -- and the year is young!)  I just LOVE this stereo & cabinet!  It's a Magnavox and sounds wonderful.  It comes with all the records that were stored inside of it (on the closed left side) and even has the original maintenance & use instructions.  I'm hoping it will fit in the living room where I have my other turntable right now, but we haven't picked it up yet.  My friends and her sisters really wanted me to leave it so they could listen to it on the day of the sale.  What do you think -- would you have bought it?

1950s-60s Magnavox stereo

On Saturday, I sold a metal utility cabinet at the mall and had to hustle something over there to fill its spot on Sunday afternoon.  That forced me to finish up a project I'd started, which will be tomorrow's post.  Right now, it's time for bed!

Quick Christmas Recap

This might be my last post of the year, but I hope not... 
We had such a great holiday season!  We traveled to Naples, Florida for the week leading up to Christmas to visit my son and his girlfriend.  They both work in the service industry down there and can't get away for the holiday because it's just about their busiest time.  It was so good to see them both and hang out with them (and the sunny 80 degrees every day wasn't bad, either).   We flew home on Christmas day, which is the perfect day to travel -- the airports (and jets) are almost empty!

When we got back to beautiful Michigan, our other two sons and family and friends came to have our 'second Christmas'.  My youngest son brought his brand-new fiance (they had just gotten engaged on Christmas Eve),  We're so excited to have her become part of the family!  Sadly, my aunt (who's 89) and my niece & nephew and their families couldn't come, so we weren't complete, but it was a great family get-together nonetheless.

Some dear friends who moved away 2 years ago came back into town for a quick overnight visit.  We (my friends & family) had our annual (15th, actually) 'Bucket of Doom'.   That's a plastic bucket crammed full of bottle rockets (600+) with a special design for optimum firing, built onto a custom-made wooden sled.  It never lives up to expectations -- only 2/3 of the rockets ever go off and only about half of those go UP & not sideways -- but that's part of the fun of the bucket!   It's a good thing we have acres of land & snow on the ground!

After the excitement of the bucket died down, we all gathered for a spirited round of Mexican Dominoes.  We had LOTS of laughs and such a good time.  There isn't much better at Christmas than family & dear friends sharing the precious gift of laughter!

Here's the fun THRIFT part:  my friend, who now lives in Minnesota, has become my personal picker!  How cool is that!  She brought me a box of wonderful treasures from estate sales in the north country and also a box of hand-picked great stuff from her mother-in-law.

 We looked at the stuff a little while she was here, but there was so much going on, I didn't get a chance to take any pictures to show you.  Tomorrow, I'm going to go through it all and (hopefully) my last post of 2011 will be a tribute (and giant THANK YOU) to my picker friend Kally!   I have to admit that I'm glad the craziness of Christmas is behind us, though it's always a let-down when everyone goes away and the house gets SO quiet again.   I'll just have to soothe my blues by looking at some great vintage stuff & sharing it with you!

Merry Christmas -- God Bless Us, Every One!

May you have much laughter...

 a sense of wonderment...

time to spend with those you love...

and to share sweet memories of those who are no longer with you...

I wish each of you a very Merry & Blessed Christmas!