Country Lane Crafts and Antiques

Oh No! Not the good silver!

2012-03-07T21:08:00.000-05:00

Instead of playing with my food, I started playing with silverware.....

Old barnwood + Old silverware = New sign.

Fun stuff!

Baby shower gift idea

2012-03-06T13:06:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, Kevin's fiance Katie and I were shopping for a baby shower gift. We looked for a stuffed animal to put in the basket of books that would be our gift. We were shocked when we couldn't find any stuffed animals!

This past weekend, we attended another baby shower. This time, as I was shopping for something else, I ran across lots of stuffed animals. Why? It's the Easter shopping season, and there's lots of bunnies, and chicks, and sheep etc. to pick from.

So...I grabbed an assortment of them, and along with a couple books and a pretty basket, that was our gift.

Bet you'd like to see a picture huh? I planned on taking one, but OOPS. I forgot.

I decided to post about it anyway, in case you're in the need for a baby shower gift too. I may go back and pick up a few more animals, in case we need another gift later in the year since I know now that it isn't always easy to find them.

And yes...the basket got lots of oohs and ahhs!

Announcing 2012 Hours

2012-03-02T08:01:00.001-05:00

Last year, I decided to cut down from being open 6 days a week to 4 days. There is just no possible way to be open that much, and still be crafting, or to be on the hunt for new antiques without hiring help. And hiring help is simply not an option. I'll be honest, I can't afford to hire help, nor do I want to get into the whole Worker's Comp expense.

Last year, I closed on Fridays and Saturdays to be free those days to go to auctions & flea markets. But, I realize that for many of you, Saturday is your only day off to shop. So.........

For 2012, I'm sticking with the 4 day week, but switching to Wed. thru Sat.

Every once in a while, I will need to close on Fridays or Saturdays to "go junking". Anytime I do that, I will notify you here or on the Country Lane Crafts facebook page.

I'm also keeping short hours on Saturdays. Why? After 1:00 or so, Saturdays are dead. As in, I can look out the door, and not see a soul in sight.

So...

2012 Hours

Wednesday - Friday

10 - 5

Saturday

10 - 1

This will take effect next Wednesday, March 7th. I'm going to stay closed a few more days to finish up some new inventory, and to put prices on all the new items.

And, the main reason I closed for the winter was because the store building is so cold. We've had a couple warm days this week, but did you hear? They are calling for snow this weekend! Bah!

I'm excited about all the new merchandise. I hope you will be too!

And there will be lots going on this year. There are several events being planned for Jefferson Avenue. A Spring Fling. A Fall Festival. An Old Fashioned Christmas. Farmer's Markets on Saturday mornings. And the one I'm most excited about...The Cost of Freedom display, including the Vietnam Veteran's Wall in August.

I've never seen the portable Vietnam Veteran's wall, but if it's half as impressive as the permanent one in Washington DC, it will be well worth the trip to Moundsville to see it. Standing before the Wall in DC is one of the most humbling and moving things I have ever done.

As for inside the walls of Country Lane Crafts, there will be lots happening too. Sometime this spring, there will be a Clearance Sale again UPSTAIRS. Possibly a Spring Open House. Definitely a Fall Open House. October of 2012 will mark our 10th anniversary!

Stay tuned!

Outhouse

2012-02-28T08:10:00.000-05:00

When you think about it, outhouses are kind of an odd thing to decorate with. I mean really, the good folks who had to get up, throw on a coat, and trudge through snow on a cold, windy, dark night probably wouldn't see their charm in quite the same way we do.

It was a necessity then....and I for one think we should thank our lucky stars that indoor plumbing is now the norm!

Country Life = Our Fresh Ham Misadventure

2012-02-25T22:25:00.000-05:00

Last summer, we bought a pig at the fair to have butchered. Since this was a first for us, we didn't really know HOW we wanted it butchered. As in, what cuts we wanted. Of course we got several packages of pork chops, and roasts, and bacon, and sausage. All delicious.

The butcher asked if we wanted the hams smoked or fresh. Well, hmmm.

We told him to smoke one and leave one fresh.

We had no idea what we were talking about.

See that meat in the crockpots? Does that look like ham to you?

It turns out there are 3 kinds of ham:

City: this is what most folks are familiar with. It's what you buy pre-cooked in the grocery store, then you just throw it in the oven and bake it again. Heavenly - we love it.

Country: this is fresh ham that has been smoked.

Fresh: this is ham that hasn't been turned into ham. I know, that makes no sense, but trust me. Fresh ham is nothing at all like ham. It's like a giant pork roast.

And I'm not kidding about the giant part. This sucker weighed 20 pounds. And to make it worse, it had been frozen. I thawed it out, but not long enough. It was still frozen in the middle when I put it in the oven.

At noon. Planning on a 5:30 dinner. About 12:30, I started googling. That's when I learned about the 3 kinds of ham. And that this fresh ham would need at least 8 hours to cook.

Houston, we have a problem.

At 6, I took it out of the oven to check it's progress. We tore a tiny bit off the outside that we were sure was done, so we could eat. The rest went back in the oven.

At 8, we decided enough was enough. Back out of the oven it came. Stuck a fork in it. The red juices ran like a river. It was time to break out the crock pots.

It took 2 big ones to hold all the chunks I cut off that massive beast. They were filled to the lids.

I turned them on low, and let them cook all night.

By morning, they were done, but still not fork-tender. Geezy-weezy. I got out a knife and started cutting. No ham, or at least what we think of as ham. But we're going to eat BBQ pulled pork until the cows come home.

It took forever to cut it all up. The house smelled great though. It was flavored with pineapple juice, mustard, brown sugar, onion and BBQ sauce.

It's a good thing we REALLY like BBQ pulled pork. I stuffed it in sandwich bags - 12 of them, which are going in the freezer. That's on top of what we're eating fresh.

There are several lessons learned.

Next time, we will get the hams smoked.

And, it will NOT be another 20 pounder.

For one thing, we don't need that much meat at once.

For another thing, we don't have a roasting pan big enough to hold one.

As evidenced by my oven after I tried to bake the "ham" in an pan that wasn't big enough.

Oh yeah, that's going to be lots of fun to clean up.

The things we get ourselves into...........

Scrabble tiles

2012-02-24T09:23:00.001-05:00

As a teen, I loved playing Scrabble with my mom. She always seemed to win, but I didn't really mind. I haven't played it for a long time. George thinks it's the worst game in the whole entire world, except for Upwards, which is a variation of Scrabble. If I mention Scrabble, he starts muttering under his breath, "Upwards - what a stupid game. Hate to spell. Hate to come up with words".

Let's just say English was not his favorite subject in school.

I picked up an old Scrabble game somewhere several months ago. A couple days ago, I got it out and started playing with it in a whole new way.

With glue.

As you can see, whoever owned this game before me used it a lot. It's very primitive looking, lots of spots and dirty places. I tried cleaning it, but there wasn't much I could do without damaging the board. Oh well, it will fit right in to someone's primitive home. Find Joy in Simple Things is glued to the board.

All the leftover tiles begged to be played with, so start playing I did. I got the idea for the Love You frame on this blog that I spotted on Pinterest.

Next came the words on the racks. Kevin said, "why the word 'Questions'?" I said, "I needed something that used a Q".

Later, I started playing around with the remaining tiles, and came up with 3 words that I thought went together well: Dare, Dream, and Imagine. A frame, a piece of scrapbook paper and some fabric daisies made it complete.

A word of advice if you ever make these yourself: if you are using hot glue, and are gluing the tiles directly onto the glass like I did, make sure you have the tile where you want it when you lay it down. It sticks immediately!

This was a fun project. I think I'll be on the lookout for more old Scrabble games.

George was hoping I'd craft with the game my mom and I used to play on, so it wouldn't be around anymore.

Not a chance. I'm keeping that one.

He likes to beat me at chess. One of these days, I'll talk him into playing Scrabble again, and I will beat him!

Projects

2012-02-22T08:08:00.001-05:00

Always so much to do....

Pick a color.

Any color.

Pick a trash to treasure project.

Any project.

Or some barnwood.

Any barnwood.

Maybe a piece of slate.

Any slate.

Or a window.

Any window.

Perhaps sewing is preferred.

Pick some fabric.

Any fabric.

How about crafting with old linens?

Pick a linen.

Any linen.

Or a vintage doilie.

Any doilie.

Most importantly...

Pick a hen.

Any hen.

You see, they think they are the top dogs.

If we step outside,

they think that means we'll come see them.

With a treat.

What projects do you have planned today?

Door arch - take 3

2012-02-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Before.....

After......

This is the last door arch I have. Third and final. I had painted the inside linen white, and the outside black, but had no idea what to put in the middle.

I was skipping around on Pinterest, and ran across a "be" list. Aha, that's what I would put in the middle. The original list I painted on it was: be grateful, true, smart, humble, clean and prayerful. Just those words.

I varnished it, and added the rusty stars. All done. I brought it upstairs to take a picture, and realized I had painted them very off-center. I rarely measure things, I do much better if I just "eye up" a project. But my eye must have been leaning to the left on this one.

So... back downstairs I went. I started adding more words, more varnish, and more rusty stars.

Much better now!

Country Life = My mama's scrapbooks

2012-02-16T18:21:00.002-05:00

We girls today think we're so hip and modern. We're all about scrapbooking, and spend small fortunes on all the latest papers and embellishments.

I have discovered I'm much better at buying the supplies than actually using them. But boy oh boy, when I really get down to it, I'll be ready!

How cool and retro are these?

They were lovingly made by my mom when she was young.

In the corner of one is the date it was given to her by a friend - 1937.

Mom would have been 12 years old.

Another was given to her by her sister.

The year is missing - that corner fell off at some point.

But I know it was birthday gift,

because it was dated April 3.

She filled them with things she loved.

Flowers. Dogs. Cats.

Jesus. Nature. Inspirational quotes.

Funny cartoons and jokes.

The pages are fragile, but the images are still bright.

I'd guess she mostly worked on these as a teenage girl...

and also as a young woman who was missing her fellow

while he was away serving his country.

As you can see, she had collected many more tidbits to scrapbook,

but never got them done.

They may have had something to do with the fact that in 1955, a baby came along.

Just glancing through the loose papers, I noticed magazine dates from 1951 & 1954.

But caring for my sister would have taken precedence over scrapping.

This scrapbook I remember well.

She bought it for me when I was little.

And the tradition continued.

Or at least she encouraged it to continue. But this book never got finished, and I must have lost interest. I do remember getting it out from time to time though, and chuckling over the cartoons we had picked out together that we thought were worthy of saving.

My creative streak came from her, and I'm thankful for that.

It occurs to me now that I should have got her scrapbooks out when she was in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. During that time when she was forgetting the current events, these scraps from her past may have reached her. Even if she didn't remember them, she would have enjoyed them again, because even as the disease was taking over, all those things she had loved before still made her happy.

What a special woman she was! My sister and I were so blessed to have her for our mom!

Country Life = Country Couples

2012-02-14T09:44:00.000-05:00

I've been sorting through old photos, and ran across this one....

That's me and George when we were dating in 1982. I always loved this picture, but had forgotten about it. That tends to happen 28 years of marriage and 2 kids later.

The picture is a bit grainy in real life, and the computer scan of it is even more so. That's ok. I suppose we're a little grainy now too. Ha!

After all, you can't keep that freshness of youth forever. But that's ok too. We realize how blessed we've been. We love each other just as much now as we did then....even more if that's possible.

We wish the same for Jessica and her newlywed husband Brian. Ok, technically, they aren't newlyweds anymore since they celebrated their 2nd anniversary last July. But compared to our 28, that's new!

Jessica was absolutely glowing that day. And Brian - who thinks girls take waaaayyy too many pictures - cooperated very well.

We also wish a lifetime of love for Kevin and his fiance Katie, who are in the midst of planning their upcoming July wedding.

See how excited Kevin is with all the wedding planning? Ha! Don't worry Katie, he will cooperate when the big day comes.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours! To your sweethearts, to your family, to your friends. It's a wonderful day to remember ALL those who we have been blessed to love, and who bless us by returning that love.

Celebrities

2012-02-13T10:59:00.001-05:00

I try to post every 2 or 3 days, but.............

I have a good excuse...really I do.

You probably don't want to hear the details...fever...stuffy head....runny nose.

Enough said? Thought so.

So, I pretty much lost most of the last 3 days. Let's see, after several attempts at paying bills, I did get that done. I made some homemade chicken noodle soup. I dusted. And that was pretty much it.

Dusted? I must have been delirious.

Anyway.

I was saddened by the news of Whitney Houston's death. What a voice.

I have never been much of a "fan". Sure, I have my favorites, but I'm not much for going all gaga over celebrities. I remember when I was riding the bus in high school - there were two junior high girls who sat behind me every day. They were IN LOVE with John Travolta. Every day, they brought their scrapbooks, and compared them. They drooled over him. They giggled over him. They vowed they would love him forever. Literally, he was ALL they talked about.

We had assigned seats, so I had to listen to them every day. I thought it was the silliest thing I had ever heard. Did I have a problem with it because I didn't like John Travolta? Of course not, who DIDN'T like John Travolta? This was right after Welcome Back Kotter. The height of Grease. Come on, what wasn't to love about John Travolta? But to droll over him on the bus every single day? Nah, not my style.

But still, I admit being very touched and saddened at times by celebrities. When John Travolta's son died, and also Bill Cosby's son. Princess Diana - I'm still in shock over her untimely death. Michael Landon - what a talent, and I so appreciated his television shows that you could actually watch with your family. Jim Henson - yay for The Muppets! John Denver - thank you for Almost Heaven, West Virginia.

And Whitney Houston. Every time I heard I Will Always Love You, I got chills. I just watched this you-tube video of her singing it, and thought you might like to see it as well....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBzLbsRJ54

Country Life = It is what it is

2012-02-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

I had been planning to use this sign in a blog post. My friend Debbie makes the most wonderful stitcheries for the store, and this saying is very popular right now. We have laughed about it, wondering who really says that, then came to realize everyone seems to be saying it, ourselves included. I catch myself saying it rather often, and I wonder - did I always say it, or have I just started saying it since our conversation about it.

But before I could write my blog post this morning, our electricity went off. My head was swimming with craft ideas I was anxious to get started on as soon as I wrote the blog post. But when the power went off at 8:00, that was the end of that. It is what it is.

I heard a thump just a second after the power went out. A couple minutes later, as I was calling the electric company to report the outage, I heard a siren. And it was snowing. Hmmm. Perhaps someone hit an electric pole.

Kevin left for work half an hour later. He called a few minutes later to make sure I wasn't going to town today. "It's slicker than snot", he said. He has a way with words.

So, I decided to tackle the one room I could see well in without electricity. Jessica's former bedroom.

I started sorting. And sorting. And sorting. Some of this is my stuff. Some is from my parents. After they both passed on, I just boxed their photos, mementos, etc. up in boxes. Today seemed a good time to start sorting.

When you sort out your parents old photos, you know what you find? All those embarrassing old school photos of yourself. I won't be posting any of those.

I might post some of my sister's embarrassing old school photos though. BAHAHAHA.

Don't worry Jo.....I wouldn't really do that.

Anyway.............

I actually bought the pretty stack of boxes a couple weeks ago for this very purpose. They are much prettier than the cardboard boxes on the left that was holding much of what's now on the floor.

You know how one project like this leads to another?

This is next. That mess is 25+ years of photos. See that box on the floor? It fell out when I opened the door. Yeah, it's time to do something. Past time.

Remind me to sort pictures when I'm watching TV, will you?

Door crown

2012-02-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

Before..............

After...........

I picked this door arch, or door crown, or whatever you call it up awhile back. It's pretty good size - 29" high x 56" across. It's been floating around my basement work studio...getting dusty...and being constantly in the way. I wanted to paint it, but how?

Yesterday it finally hit me. It looks sort of like a sunburst, and mustard and black are popular primitive colors. That's it! All that time, I had been trying to come up with something fancy, and all I needed were 2 colors, and a simple star at the bottom center.

By days end, it was finished. Yay!

I'll be taking it to the store sometime this week. One more inventory item for the store, one more thing out of my work studio. A win-win.

Vintage....and unusual

2012-02-02T21:39:00.000-05:00

The shop may be closed for the winter,

but that doesn't mean we're not still

gathering old treasures...

We're in the heart of coal mining country here in WV.

The large picture above honors the

hard work our miners do each and every day.

And they do it well.

This old scrapbook may be falling apart at the seams,

but the graphic on the front is still beautiful.

Someone already did the tedious work

of joining old fabric scraps together into an 8 point star.

There are 7 of these ready to be finished into a fine quilt.

These lamp shades have long ago lost their coverings.

All that is left are the skeletons.

An assortment of.....well....I'm not sure.

These I know....a milker and a milk strainer.

My cousin and I used to walk through the dairy barn

sometimes when the cows were being milked.

I was so little, and the cows were so big.......

.............I haven't quite got over that yet.

A bee smoker.

Not sure how or why, but that's what it is.

A heavy...and wide iron wheel.

We have a few other odd sized wheels as well.

Looking for something to plant flowers in that won't blow away?

This cast iron tub isn't going anywhere!

Drainage hole included.

Last but not least...a....an....um....

Does the side view help any?

My customers are always telling me we find the most unique things.

So unique that we don't know what it is either!

Never Walk Alone

2012-01-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

I lost my dad just over 3 years ago....and lost my mom physically almost 7 years ago....and several years in addition to that due to Alzheimer's Disease.

Dad had a wonderful voice - and he loved to sing. Gospel mostly....I can still hear him beside me in church, singing the hymns he loved.

When mom was in the nursing home, dad bought a karaoke machine, and he would sing for the residents of the nursing home. He recorded some of his singing on cassettes.

After he passed, George and Jessica and I were in his house. Jessica pushed the play button on his karaoke machine, and suddenly dad's voice filled the room. It was wonderful and terrible all in the same moment...

I haven't been able to listen to the cassettes since, knowing I would go to pieces. But this morning, I was finally ready.

I put a cassette in the player, pushed the button, and there was dad, singing just the very song I needed to hear...."You'll Never Walk Alone".

Mom and dad may be gone physically, but they are with me everyday, guiding me. I take great comfort knowing that because of my memories of them, I'll never walk alone.

You can listen to Elvis sing this wonderful song here

Country Life = Marx Toys and fun

2012-01-25T22:50:00.001-05:00

I've been working on our basement - cleaning...sorting....organizing.

One of the boxes brought back many happy memories. My cousins and I spent many an hour playing with these...

While I'm not 100% certain, I think they are Marx toys. I just called my sister Jo, and she too thinks they are Marx. They actually were her toys first......and I'm sure she had just as much fun with them as I did. And maybe we played with them together...if so, I don't remember that.

You see, she is 6 1/2 years older than me. Which makes me 6 1/2 years younger than her. Which made me quite an annoyance to her. By the time I was old enough to be interested in these kinds of toys, she had probably moved on to a new interest...........BOYS.

But no more than 3 years separated me and my 2 cousins - a girl the same age as me, and her brother who was 3 years younger. We didn't care at all about BOYS then, (or in the case of my boy cousin - GIRLS).

We just played ranch...and farm...and stick-em-ups. Then we'd tear it all down, and do it again. Oh the fun!

If you look closely, you'll notice some of the horses have lost their tails. One of the benches is missing a leg. The fence is a bit precarious. And the stage coach is in need of serious repair.

But that's ok. Those are signs of toys that were played with, and played with often. Those are signs that make the memories come flooding back.

Marx Toys were made in Glen Dale, WV from 1919 to 1980. Glen Dale neighbors our town of Moundsville. We're thinking our toys are from the late 50's/early 60's. Like lots of folks around here, our dad had a stint working at Marx Toys. According to their website, during the 1950’s and 60’s, Louis Marx & Co. became the “largest toy manufacturer in the world,” with over one-third of all toys in the United States being Marx toys.

I encourage you to check out their website - http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/ And if you are a country music fan, be sure to read the page about the legends of Glen Dale - www.marxtoymuseum.com/announcements/legends-of-glen-dale

It tells about the display they have of the Marx Toys that Brad Paisley played with. Brad is from Glen Dale too - I remember seeing him sing at local festivals etc. when he was just a boy. Our hometown boy has certainly made a name for himself!

If you're in our area sometime, be sure to make time to stop at the Marx Toy Museum. It's a fascinating trip down memory lane. The Turner family has done a wonderful job showcasing those marvelous toys. And......my aunt may just be your tour guide.

She's the mother of the 2 cousins who played ranch and farm and stick-em-up with me all those years ago!

Country Life = The year of the rainbow?

2012-01-23T22:37:00.001-05:00

It's only the 23rd day of January - but it's been a really, really, really cool year so far in the rainbow department.

On the 1st day of the New Year, we saw this rainbow....

It was unusual, because it was out the back door - we had never seen one from that direction before. We have always stood on our front porch to see them. You can read more about that rainbow here.

Today, we saw something even cooler.............

George and I were driving down a country road in a downpour. The rain started letting up, and the sun came out. Just as George said, "there should be a rainbow", it appeared.

It was bright, beautiful, and not too far from us.

And then....

The end came down, right into some pine trees along the side of the road!

How about that!

No, we didn't see a pot of gold.

But who cares! It was enough just to see the rainbow of colors coming down into the trees.

Oh to have had a camera handy!

Looking for...antiques

2012-01-20T08:05:00.000-05:00

I saw a post on another blog the other day... the shop owner had made a list of things she tries to find when she's out junkin' - not things for herself, but for her to put in her shop.

We too have a list in our heads we take with us whenever we're out on the hunt. The trick is, we have to find it at prices that allow us to raise the price enough to make a profit on it. After all, we have bills to pay.

Chairs are always on our list. If they are sturdy enough to sit on, it's a definate plus. But we also buy them if all they can be is a "porch chair that holds flowers".

And tables. Farm style tables in particular. I can't sell a "nice" piece of furniture. A fine oak piece? A beautiful mahogany dresser? A graceful cherry cabinet? Nah. My people want chippy paint.

That's what we call our customers when we're out on the hunt. My people. It's a term of high praise and endearment. We are very, very, very thankful for my people.

Wheels are always fun - any size will work in flower gardens. We tend to find smaller ones like these more often, but we've also had some monsters.

It's tough to get old mantles at a price we can afford, let alone make a profit on. But once in a while we get lucky. Old ladders are also in demand.

Windows, windows, windows. I'm ALWAYS looking for more old windows. One time George bought almost 200 old windows at an auction. That was a bit much, because almost all of them were big - 8 pane and larger. That was a couple years ago, and I'm still selling those windows. He took a chance, and bought them sight unseen. If they had been 4 and 6 pane windows - like in the above photo - they would have all been gone by now. It's harder to sell the big ones, but I have sold the majority of them. Just guessing, I'd say there's 40 or so left. When the last one is gone - we're going out to celebrate!

Old wood boxes. Another thing we constantly look for. When we first opened, we just used antiques for props. I went to an auction one evening, and there were dozens of wood boxes. They sold for rather low prices, and I bought just a few for display purposes. Boy...would I love to catch another auction like that one now that I sell them! Many times at auctions, boxes sell higher there than I price them in the store! Just depends on who is at the auction, and how badly she wants those boxes.

Who doesn't love the coziness of an old quilt? How adorable is this one with cats in the middle, and paw prints around the edges? It sold very quickly. I wish I would have had several of them, because it sold within a day or two of putting it on facebook and this blog. Several other customers asked about it after it was gone.

Crocks are very hard to get at a price we can make a profit on. A fellow who has an antique shop in a neighboring town is usually at the auctions. If he's there, I know I won't be able to buy any crocks - he's willing to pay much more per crock than I can. I wish he's stay home more often!

We like to find unusual items - this heavy, heavy piece sold before we even got it inside the store. We unloaded it out back - because it was so heavy, we were going to have to move some stuff around inside in order to place it close to the front door. That would make it easier on whoever bought it when it came time to take it out. While it was sitting out back, one of the girls who works next door saw it. She bought it to plant flowers in. And we didn't have to try to get it inside! A win-win!

This is just a short list of what we look for. We know our customers well enough now to have a pretty good idea of what they are looking for, and it's fun to go on the hunt with that in mind.

It's great to have an excuse to spend all that time "goin' junkin'!"

Country Life = A boy's collection

2012-01-16T07:24:00.001-05:00

One afternoon when Jessica was home for the holidays, she went with her dad and me to sort through some things that had been left behind in the house he grew up in. While Jessica and I looked through some boxes out in the main room, George looked through the closet.

All at once he started giggling.

"Look at this!"

More giggles.

"Oh no! This is proof I really am a packrat!"

The proof was in the decoupaged jar.

The jar he doesn't remember, but we're guessing he probably made it in school. Maybe an art class project. He wasn't a fan of school, so it's no wonder he forgot making it there.

The jar was stuffed full. For several minutes, he pulled stuff out of it, giggling the whole time. I wish I would have had the camera with me at the time, because he threw a good bit of it away while he was sorting through it.

But he did keep a few things, a sampling of what had been in it since he was a boy...

At first he couldn't figure out why he had this, then he remembered. His favorite team had been the Kansas City Chiefs, and he had a rain poncho with this patch on the back.

George grew up back a private lane, 1/4 mile or so in length. He and his brother and sister would walk to the main road to catch the bus. At the end of their lane was a little bus stop building, where they could wait if it was raining. One morning, George left his Kansas City Chiefs rain poncho on it's shelf when he went to school.

That evening, when he came home, the poncho was gone, though the patch was laying there. When he told his mom, she remembered that earlier in the day, during the rain, she had seen a motorcycle stop at the end of their lane, then it took off.

Apparently, the rider was getting soaked, saw a bus stop, and took a chance that he might find a coat. It was his lucky day so to speak. He took the poncho, but tore off the patch that was evidence.

George stuffed the patch in his jar.

Also in the jar was the typical school boy rulers and pencil stubs. A little plastic football. A change holder. He has no idea why he had a shoe horn in there. The metal tag by the protractor is a dog tag from 1956. (He wasn't born till 1961 - he was already getting into old stuff!)

The golf tees were from when he would play golf in the back yard. He didn't have a golf club, but a croquet mallet got the job done.

But his favorite find was the metal pieces in the front of the picture. What are they you ask?

A 3 point hitch for his Ford toy tractor...

That tractor was his favorite toy when he was a boy. As you can see, he took very good care of it. He has many fond memories of playing with it in the dirt under a shade tree right beside the house.

The neighbor boys - a set of brothers - had the same tractor. But they were rough with theirs, and tore it up. All that was left was the 3 point hitch, and George rescued the hitch. He had put it in the jar, but by the time he became an adult, he couldn't remember what happened to it, and would wonder about it every so often.

He was thrilled to find it in the jar!

And for the record, the day he found it, he called it a packrat jar.

But now, he prefers to call it his time capsule.

Open Today

2012-01-12T07:29:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are local............

I'll have the shop open today. As you know, I'm officially closed for the winter, but I'm having days here and there that I open the shop. It was open yesterday, and will be again today.

I'm putting new merchandise out - some new crafts, some antiques. And, I'm packing up leftover Christmas supplies. Right now, you can hardly walk through my back room - here's hoping the fire department doesn't do one of their surprise inspections today. Hopefully, by the end of today, it will be neatly packed away.

If you're in town today - come see me!

Country life = Kevin's birthday

2012-01-11T08:53:00.003-05:00

Our son Kevin is one of the lucky ones....

He knows exactly what he wants to do with his life.

He wants to farm.

The tricky part is having enough money to really get started.

He's lucky to have a good neighbor who is helping him

get started, and who is teaching him the ropes.

Right up there with farming is his love for anything timber related.

Yep, you might say he's a country boy.

He takes it all very seriously.

why do boys stick their tongues out every time you point a camera at them?

Another thing he takes seriously is his engagement to Katie.

Well, ok, sometimes he takes it seriously.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!!!

May God bless your 24th year abundantly.

Country Life = Busy days

2012-01-10T10:30:00.000-05:00

Thought things were supposed to slow down after the holidays? Not in our world.

We've been swamped. But in the midst of it all, we have found some time to go junkin'. Pictures to come later as I get them worked into the store.

As you know, I've closed the store for the winter months due to cold (it's hard to heat that old store building!) and bad roads (it's not worth the risky drive into town when it's icy and snowy).

So guess what's happened? We're having a very mild winter! Lots of days in the 40's, hardly any snow. Why is it that the years I stayed open, we had terrible winters?

I will be open tomorrow...Wednesday, January 11. I'm still taking Christmas out, and trying to work in some of the "new" old stuff. Which means the store is a bit of a mess right now. Bear with me.

Just be glad you don't have to see my basement. I'd like to think it's organized chaos, but it isn't close to organized. How bad is it? When Jessica & Brian were getting ready to go home after the holidays, they took their cat Domi downstairs to use the litter box one last time before the long road trip.

He realized what was happening, and got away from them, hiding here & there amidst the chaos. Jessica said it took them 15 minutes to get hold of him again.

She said, and I quote, "do you know how many places there are down there for a cat to hide?"

Sigh.

Yes, yes I do.

I'll be working on that.

Country Life = Our favorite daughter's birthday

2012-01-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

It's so much easier to have a favorite daughter when you only have one daughter.

While she was home for the holidays, we celebrated Jessica's birthday.

It was a very serious celebration.

We had Irish Cream Cheesecake.

And as you can probably guess

(especially if know Jessica)

she is dancing as we sing Happy Birthday to her.

(Jessica, I apologize for putting you on your side)

(I edited, I saved, I re-edited, I re-saved)

(On my screen, I see you up-right)

(On the blog, you're on your side)

(But I'm using the pic anyway)

(I love your look of making a wish)

(And "can I do it"?)

YES!!! She can!

Her husband Brian had faith in her.

Their Aunt Jo & Uncle Terry sent insulated bags for her and Kevin.

(Kevin's birthday is next week)

Gifts from their Aunt & Uncle are known for having something tucked inside.

Jessica went all out looking for that something.

That's our girl.

I know anyone who has a daughter thinks they have the best one.

But they are wrong.

George & I have the best daughter in the whole wide world.

Just thinking about her brings a smile to our faces.

May God bless you with a wonderful 26th year Jessica...

We love you sweetie!

Country Life = A New Year Surprise

2012-01-03T14:03:00.000-05:00

Here in our neck of the woods, we've had a mild winter. Hardly any snow, and most of December was in the 40's. Chilly, but certainly not all that cold.

And then came January...it's cold. Very cold. Hurts your skin cold. And we have an inch or two of snow. Blowing snow. Blows right in where you just swept it off snow.

Right now at 2 PM, it's 14 degrees. With the wind, it feels like single digits. A few of the chickens ventured outside, but most are saying No Thank You - even if their favorite treat of cracked corn is scattered out there.

But before the cold, we started the New Year with....a rainbow!

This was our view from our deck early Sunday morning. It hadn't been raining, though the sky looked like it could rain any second. But that wasn't the only reason this rainbow took us by surprise...we have never seen one in the west before. We have always seen them from the front of our house - in the east.

We started looking for the other end but couldn't find it, nor the middle of it. I took the above photo just to show the threatening sky.

And then, a minute or so later, the other end appeared....

How cool is that to start the New Year?!?

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T17:18:00.000-05:00

Apologies for the lack of posts during the holidays - my time was taken up in the wonderful realm of family.

For various reasons, we spent a fair amount of time going thru family "stuff". That's what son-in-law Brian calls all the material things we get wrapped up in. He told Jessica her family consists of hoarders, but then admitted his was too, so they are probably doomed to the same fate.

We're not really hoarders, at least not to the extent as on the TV shows. In fact, if I watch one of those episodes, I go into a cleaning frenzy, lest that fate befalls me!

One thing we went through was fabric. Jessica is getting an interest in quilting, so she was going through fabric with an eye in that direction. I love quilts too, but to be honest, I'm much more interested in them when someone ELSE goes to the trouble to make them. Ha!

I did just say to George a few minutes ago that looking at all this fabric makes me wish I could sew. Well...I can sew - a little. My skills are pretty limited. How I wish I had paid more attention when mom tried to teach me to sew when I was a teen!

I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but maybe that could be mine for this year. Sewing machine - here I come!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:56:00.000-05:00

What a busy time of year! And a wonderful time as well.

It may be Christmas evening according to the calendar, but at our house, Christmas isn't until tomorrow.

We often have our celebration the day before or the day after. Whatever works out best with George's shift work schedule, and the Christmas schedules of extended families.

Today Jessica and Brian are with his family.
Kevin and Katie are with her family.
My sister Jo and her husband Terry are with his family.
Our friend Bonnie is with other friends who are like family to her.

So it was very quiet around here. Lots of time to reminisce on Christmas's past.

And an extra day to get ready!

It was wonderful to see so many families re-united with loved ones at church this morning. Lots of babies - and lots of grandma's with big smiles as they held them. Miles may come between family members - but the grandparents love knows no boundaries, that was obvious. Ahhh, home for the holidays.

George and I hope all of you had a Merry, Merry Christmas!!!

Winter Hours

2011-12-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

We've decided to close for the winter season.
Reason? Freezin!

Seriously.

George has wanted me to close for the winter months every year, and I never have. This year I'm going to listen to him. Like I should have listened to him the day this happened:

That was the day in 2008 when he said I better not go to town, the roads were too bad. And I said I had to go, it was 5 days before Christmas.

I'm not too proud to admit he was right. I slid on the ice, hit a tree, took out a fence, sheared off a gas meter, and totaled the car. By the grace of God I wasn't hurt, and also by the grace of God, the gas lines underneath the sheared off gas meter didn't blow up, which would have also blown up the house I almost hit.

It wasn't a good day.

And I never did make it to town to open the store, even though it was 5 days before Christmas.

Anyway............when he again suggested I close for the winter, I decided to listen this time.

Partly due to snow conditions, partly due to high heat costs. This old store building is hard to heat. If I had it warm enough to be comfortable, I wouldn't be able to afford it.

So...starting next week, the store will be closed. We will re-open sometime in March - the date will be announced later.

However - there may be days here and there that I do open. I'm going to be spending January and February in my workshop at home. We'll also be out antiquing when the weather cooperates. So, there will be days when I'm bringing new merchandise into town, and I may open those days. If that happens, it will be announced here and also on facebook.

The plan is that in the spring, I'll have LOTS of new stuff. New craft stuff. New old stuff. (you know what I mean).

And another clearance sale upstairs - date announced later.

Thought you might like another view of the car after the accident. Yep - I managed to destroy the rear left and the front right.

And the underneath. That hole you see is from the sheared off gas meter.

It wasn't a good day.

We're still open this week - 10 - 4:30 thru Friday, and till 2 on Christmas Eve.

Some things that are on the floor now will be transformed/rehabbed/refurbished by spring. Others will go into our spring clearance sale upstairs. If there's something you've seen in here you're dying to have just as it is now, come in this week and grab it.

And also, during the winter months, if you think of something you really want, just shoot me an email, or contact me on facebook. George goes thru town most days going to work, and we can work out something.

Thanks for understanding.

Oglebay Festival of Lights

2011-12-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

I've been too busy to blog......but that's probably ok, because you've probably been to busy to read it anyway! Tis the season.

We're pretty much done shopping, and just about done wrapping. The house is decorated. (Too bad it isn't clean yet.)

We and a few thousand of our closest friends went to Oglebay Park in Wheeling, WV Saturday evening to see the lights. Beautiful! It's one of the biggest light dispays in the country.

This is Cinderella going to the ball, one of my favorite displays they've had for several years. A new favorite is the ferris wheel and carousel. We didn't take pictures, tooooooo many cars to stop and snap pics. We may try to go again on a weeknight when it's not so crowded.

Kevin and Katie went with friends a couple weeks ago...this is a pic they took that night in front of the Mansion Museum. The "flower" gardens of lights around the Mansion and Carriage House are incredibly beautiful.

Shhhhhhhhh....don't tell Katie I lifted her photo from facebook!

Christmas funnies

2011-12-15T12:03:00.002-05:00

How's your Christmas preparations coming?

Are you ready yet?

Is the season one of joy for you?

Or are you a bit frazzled?

Need a laugh?

I'm thinking this is the way to go!

Simple....understated.

But if you really want to go all out.........

Ha!

This next one is one of my favorites....

Sorry for the small picture...it blurs if it's any bigger.

And finally...

What more can I say?

Merry (there's only 10 more days!) Christmas!

Thanks to the internet at large for the above photos

Country life = A neighbor's kindness

2011-12-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

I want to share something that has really touched us recently........

Friends of ours lost their only child in 2008 when she was only 22 years old. She died as a result of an auto accident. I wish I had known her - I did meet her a couple times. As our friendship with her mom has grown since then, I do feel like I knew her through stories her mom proudly shares. The world lost a very special young lady much, much too soon.

Our county is full of ridges and lanes, which have had RD (rural delivery) addresses. In an effort to facilitate emergency vehicles, the county government is giving every ridge and lane a name, which results in all of us in the country getting new addresses. If a lane didn't already have a name, they sent forms out to the residents on that lane on which they could submit name suggestions.

Our friends live on one of those previously un-named lanes. When they got the form, they thought it would be nice if the lane could be named after their daughter, but wasn't sure how the neighbors would feel about it. As it turns out, one of those neighbors had the same thought, and asked them if it would be ok with them to submit their daughter's name. They happily agreed, and now it's official.

They live on Hannah Drive.

Our lives are so intertwined. I doubt we ever realize how many people we touch just in our every day lives. Or how many people care about us.

Hannah may not live among us anymore, but she will continue to live in the hearts of the many people who loved her.

A collection of memories idea

2011-12-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

No photo today, but an idea........

Everywhere you go that is a place you want to remember - buy a Christmas ornament. That's easy this time of year, but even in the summer, if you are in any kind of tourist/vacation spot, you can often find ornaments.

As the years go by, and you decorate your Christmas tree, you will have a tree that is full of memories.

I wish I had thought of that when George & I got married. We do have a tree that's full of memories. But not memories of places we've been. That would be a fun trip down memory lane.

Or, I wish I had thought of it when Jessica & Brian first got together. They started dating on senior trip to England, Ireland & Scotland. Wouldn't it have been fun to have ornaments from overseas!

Better late than never. I did think of it in time to suggest it to Kevin's girlfriend Katie. And they did buy their first ornament together at the Oglebay Festival of Lights in Wheeling, WV.

I normally don't sell Christmas items other than Christmas time. But I think next year I will keep a few ornaments out year round, in case someone visiting Moundsville is doing something similar, and they want to add to their collection.

Snowballs

2011-12-07T08:48:00.000-05:00

These snowballs don't need shoveled.

My kind of snow!

Actually, I love snow.

And don't mind shoveling it.

If it would just stay off the roads..........

Fur Boards decked out for Christmas

2011-12-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

The 3 triangular shaped pieces are old fur boards.

They were used for stretching pelts.

I love the shape and patina of them,

and I think they make a great shape for

primitive snowmen.

The piece on the far right is an old barrel stave.

The old fur boards are also a great shape for Santa.

I'd much rather paint on old wood than new.

The character of the old wood brought on by the passing of time

is something we can try to recreate, but it's just not the same.

Ornaments

2011-12-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

I took these photos at the end of the day on Saturday.

I sold lots of ornaments last week,

so you can imagine how much fuller they had been before the photos.

What kind of ormanents do you use on your tree?

How many trees do you put up?

Oops, this photo didn't turn out very well.

The little plate ornaments are great on a mini tree.

Or just hanging on a hook year round.

We call these Jo Balls.

My sister Jo Ellen (Jo) makes them.

Jo makes Balls.

Jo Balls.

We're very glad she has a good sense of humor.

Sale, sale, sale! And you can win Santa!

2011-12-01T19:58:00.000-05:00

Santa can be yours for free. How? Come in the store this Friday or Saturday, sign up to win him. That's all there is to it! The winner will be notified Monday morning.

I painted him on an old fur board. A fur board is what they used for stretching pelts.

While you're in the store, you might as well shop! All regular priced items will be 20% off! Well, there are 2 exclusions - the farm fresh brown eggs and one particular handmade ornament.

This will be our last First Friday & Saturday Event. Next year we will be switching to a couple open houses. Probably late spring/early summer and fall. We'll let you know more on that later.

Ho Ho Ho! December Event!

2011-11-30T20:49:00.000-05:00

Santa never ages. How does he do that? I just got this particular Santa in.......isn't he cool? I looked him up on Ebay, and it appears this one has been around since the 1950's.

And dont' forget..........

Our last FIRST FRIDAY & SATURDAY EVENT is this week.

20% off all regular prices! Including Christmas!

This will be the last one of the year.

Actually, this will be the last First Friday & Saturday Event period.

It was a good experiment, but it didn't work as well as I had hoped.

Sooooo,

Next year, we will still be doing an Open House or two, but not on a monthly basis.

More to come on that later. Stay tuned.

Snowmen

2011-11-29T20:40:00.000-05:00

This time of year, snowmen tend to take over.

They show up everywhere!

On suitcases.

And wreaths.

On sleds (seems appropriate)

And baking pans (appropriate? well.........whatever)

I painted some on glass bulbs.

And some on old barnwood.

How about some on railroad spikes?

These make great stocking holders.

Some show their pride in WV.

Others just kind of hang out.

Just chillin'...so to speak.

And some just looooove to play.

More are coming...

after all, it's not even December yet!

HOLIDAY HOURS

2011-11-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

Holiday Hours are now in effect.

MONDAY - FRIDAY

10 - 4:30

SATURDAY

10 - 3

I'm going to close at 4:30 instead of 5:00. Why? I'm having trouble driving in the dark. It seems to be getting worse every year.

A few years ago, I started having trouble at night if it was raining, and I was in the town lights. Out on the ridge, I was fine.

Then, I started having a bit of trouble in the rain even on the ridge.

This year, I'm having LOTS of trouble in the rain even on the ridge.

And even when it's not raining.

I'm not taking chances. I did that once in the ice and totaled the car. (I should have listened to George and stayed home that day!!!) Sooooooooo........I'm closing earlier. Being your own boss does have certain advantages!

Actually, I have no problems driving at night when no one is coming towards me. It's those darned oncoming headlights that are the problem. Is there some way I can convince everyone else to stay off the roads after dark till I get safely to my destination?

I didn't think so.

Friday and Saturday results

2011-11-27T14:27:00.000-05:00

Black Friday came and went without too much fanfare in my shop. Several folks came in (thank you!), but of course I didn't get the crowds the malls do.

But then came Small Business Saturday.....

Imagine my surprise at the lines outside my door!

Customers were patiently waiting at the front door...

I opened the front doors, & the mad rush began!

And then I woke up.

Ok, ok, none of this actually happened. Not at my store anyway. (Isn't it fun to google something as simple as Black Friday crowds?)

But I did have a busy day on Saturday. Without the stress of fighting crowds.

I send out a sincere thank you to all of you who did come in - not just on Friday and Saturday, but every day of the year. Your support means more than I can ever say, and I truly appreciate all of you!

Black Friday & Small Business Saturday

2011-11-25T16:47:00.001-05:00

The news media is all over Black Friday. The deals, the crowds, the frenzy. Did you participate? If you did, more power to ya. It's not for me - as Jessica said, "there's nothing out there I need that much". Amen.

I didn't open my shop at midnight, or at 4 in the morning. I opened at.....GASP!.....the late hour of 10:00. You see, my Black Friday customers tend to be the folks who wanted no part of the frenzy. They are more interested in a slower pace, a more relaxing atmosphere.

I did get some afternoon shoppers who are winding down from their early morning excursion, and I appreciate that they included my shop in their busy day.

Next is Small Business Saturday. That idea seems to be taking off across the country, and I'm sure I speak for most mom & pop stores when I say we appreciate that. Somehow I doubt the media will talk quite as much about it, but at least it's getting an honorable mention.

I'll have the shop open for that as well. So, on Small Business Saturday, the shop will be open from 10 to 3. Maybe longer if folks are still coming in. Saturday's tend to die down around that time, so we'll see.

Wherever you live, please remember the small businesses in your neighborhood. We can't do all the glitzy promotions, or offer the deep discounts. But we can offer knowledge about our products, friendly help, and a slower pace that gives you a chance to actually pick something up and look at it without being in someone's way.

We truly, truly appreciate our local customer base who share bits of their busy lives with us!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I started thinking last night about what I'm thankful for. What I'm most thankful for is probably very similar to what you're thankful for.

Family, friends, decent health, jobs etc.

But I also started thinking about "the smaller things".........(in no particular order)...........

Weather forecasts
Sure, they aren't always right, but they give us a decent idea of what to expect. I'd hate to not have them at all.

Fleece blankets
I slept under one last night. As in - I was on top of the covers, with a fleece blanket on top of me. Ahhh! Soooooo cozy. Who came up with the whole sheets idea anyway? When it's cold, fleece is the way to go!

Variety in food
We're always thankful for our food, but do we really appreciate the variety before us? I often think of the Israelites in the Old Testament who murmered and complained when God graciously provided them with manna from above. Did it always taste the same?

Soft kitty cat fur
Billy's coat hasn't been it's healthy self for awhile now - his age is showing. But lately, it's soft as can be again. We think he snuck off and indulged in a spa treatment. The bill will probably come any day now.

School concerts
And the fact that here locally, they are still allowed to include religous music. And more often that not, it brings the most feeling from the singer, and the most appreciation from the audience.

Smiles and Laughter
Need I say more?

Woodstoves
I don't feel warm till I feel the dry heat that comes from burning our own wood. And Kevin is making some extra money which he needs by selling firewood to other folks who use woodstoves.

Running water...and Indoor plumbing
Need I say more?

Memories
Of my parents. Of George's parents. Of other loved ones who are gone now. Of our younger days - as kids, dating, our wedding, our babies...who grew up much too quickly.

Telephones
I'm really not a phone person. But I'm so thankful I can just pick up the phone and call Jessica who lives 5 hours away. I can't imagine the days before phones. It would be so hard to be separated from your family by miles and miles and miles if you knew you couldn't talk to them.

The country life
Not that there's a thing wrong with living in the burbs. Or a town. Or a city. But country is the best choice for us.

I could go on. And on. And on and on and on.

But, I'll stop here. Beyond the "biggies", what are you thankful for?

Hey - I wrote 2 posts in one day! How about that! Which reminds me - I'm thankful for the blog world too. And all of you who read this. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Country Life = getting ready for Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T07:48:00.000-05:00

It's the day before Thanksgiving.

Are you spending your day baking?

Not me. Not today. I'm cleaning.

We're having Thanksgiving at our house this year.

I'll bake pumpkin pies first thing tomorrow morning,

but today, I'm trying to find the furniture under the dust.

Where does all that dust come from?

It's amazing how dirty your house can get while you're not looking!

We have an interesting phenomonon in our house...

The dust in our kitchen is red.

We have no idea why.

When the kids were little, we mixed up lots of kool-aid,

so we thought that was the red dust culprit.

But...

we hardly ever mix up kool-aid anymore.....

and the red dust is still there.

Nowhere else in the house, just the kitchen.

Should we be concerned?

Well, anyway...if you're baking today...happy baking!

Believe stars

2011-11-22T07:06:00.000-05:00

I love this fabric tree topper that says Believe.

It's handmade locally by a friend of mine.

It has a ring on the back that will slip right over the top branch.

Or, you can simply hang it on your wall.

If you look closely at the inside of the black podium,

you can see the same stars, but ornament size.

(As you can guess, showing these together was an after-thought)

(I should have had a better photo of the smaller stars)

(Oh well)

The podiums are table top style.

They actually came from a local university.

I repainted them and distressed them.

Now they have Bibles laying on them...

they have been converted.

I crack myself up sometimes.

Country Life = I've got a BooBoo

2011-11-21T12:24:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you throw a chunk of wood on a wood splitter, the wood slides just a bit and smashes your finger between the wood and the hard metal of the splitter. And this was with leather gloves on.

Let me tell you, this took my breath for a couple of minutes. Throb, throb, throb.

We usually enjoy splitting firewood, but yesterday just wasn't one of those days. Several things went wrong, including my BooBoo. And to add insult to injury (literally!), we had to finish in the rain.

I tried to type on the computer last evening, and it hurt too bad to do much. It feels much better today, though the nastiness factor in how it looks will probably stick around for awhile.

I really think this should get me out of doing dishes, don't you?

Salvation Army bears

2011-11-18T09:10:00.000-05:00

In Moundsville, it's Christmas when the Salvation Army bears come out to play.

The bears are decorated by many volunteers,

then they are placed in several store windows for display for a couple weeks.

I have 15 in my window,

and I display them on a sled filled with presents.

The pictures are taken through the glass,

which explains the reflections etc. you can see.

Later, they will be collected again,

then given to needy children at a Christmas party.

The volunteers do an amazingly creative job dressing the bears.

It's so much fun to see them, and I am honored to

be included in displaying them.

If you get a chance, stroll down Jefferson Ave. and take a peek!

During the Christmas Parade on Saturday would be a great opportunity.

The Parade starts at 2:00.

We will be open from 10 - 4, longer if needed.

The weather is supposed to be chilly, but beautiful!

Hope to see you at the parade!

Recent auction finds

2011-11-17T06:28:00.003-05:00

These are a few of our recent auction finds...

This old dresser is pretty, but unfortunately, the top on the right side is broke.

Not sure how hard it will be to fix, because one section is warped.

We're selling it cheap due to that.

Old radio case, the "guts" have been removed.

On the floor beside it is a press - a sausage press I think.

Old farmhouse table - red top with white legs.

Or, if you prefer, how about one with a white top, and red legs?

Who can tell me what this is?

It's a sheep shearer - one person would turn the crank,

while the other would shear the sheep with the knives

that would have been attached to the wand part.

When my dad was a boy, he was the cranker.

Who can tell me what this is?

Seriously, can anyone tell me?

We don't know.

I thought the auctioneer said "baking table", but now I don't think so.

The metal top lifts off, and inside is 2 compartments.

Look closely, at the bottom of each compartment is a drain, or spigot.

As if it held liquid.

The farm had been a dairy, so maybe it's for holding milk?

On the front of each compartment, it says IDEAL.

I did a quick google search, but didn't find anything.

UPDATE

Thanks to a facebook fan, I now have the answer....

It is a washtub, and was used in a dairy.

Not for milk (whatever possessed me to think that?)

For water...for cleaning.

Thanks Jane!!!!

Headboard stocking holder

2011-11-16T11:30:00.001-05:00

Let me apologize for the terrible pictures - I'll explain. This is a rather big piece, and I didn't think to take a picture before I put it in the display window. It wasn't easy getting it there.

The next day I decided to get pictures and put it on my blog. No big deal, or so I thought. I'll just get pictures through the window. Well...........that didn't work so well. I just kept getting reflections. And because it was rather hard to get it in the window to begin with, I didn't want to take it out for pictures.

Hopefully you can at least get the idea. I turned an old headboard into a Christmas stocking holder....

Across the top, it says "and the stockings were hung....". Under that are cut nails to hang your stockings.

The sign hanging on it says, "No Mantle? No Problem! Santa will find your stockings on this!"

The headboard is old and primitive looking - just right for a country home. I painted the front barn red, painted the lettering black and also splattered black all over it.

We're not all lucky enough to have a chimney and/or mantle, so............here you go! A cool place to hang your stockings!

And don't worry, if you want to buy it, I will gladly get it back out of the window.

I have a couple more old headboards - what do you think? Should I make more stocking holders?

Country life = It's just not fair

2011-11-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

Usually, I sell runner sleds as is, no decorations on them. But I decided to paint a snowman on this one just for the fun of it. I really liked how it turned out, so I may do more - If I can get my hands on more sleds. There's lots of sleds out there, but getting them at a price I'm willing to pay can be difficult.

Actually, we did pick up 2 yesterday at an auction. Our driveway at home is Cleaning Central for the "junk" that comes from auctions, flea markets etc.

While I was outside cleaning today, I heard a truck stop out the lane, just past our house a little ways. I knew what that meant - don't look. You see, we live back a dirt road, and in the 24 years we've lived here, we've heard dozens of cars and trucks stop in that same spot.

It seems to be a popular spot for.......um.........well.........for men to......um.........shall we say.........relieve themselves.

Don't worry, even if we did look, we wouldn't really see anything other than a man standing by his truck. It's just far enough away not to see any.........um........details.

Life in the country.

We've been spending lots of time in the woods this fall, cutting and splitting firewood. When nature calls, the menfolk just wander off and "check out the scenery".

It's not quite so easy for us womenfolk.

I gotta say - it's just not fair.

Kids do the darndest decorating

2011-11-11T06:57:00.000-05:00

I should hire some little girls..........a couple little sweetpeas did some re-decorating while their mommies shopped this week.

I know you can't tell a whole lot about this photo, so I'll explain it. The background is an old enamel table top, and the price tag in the middle is for it. I'm using it beside the counter as a way to display magnets. While mommy paid for her purchases, her girl kept herself busy rearranging the magnets. Note how neatly she arranged them around the price tag.

The next day, another little girl disappeared in a corner while mommy and grandma browsed. When they called for her to leave, she came walking out from that corner, pushing an old baby doll carriage...in which she had placed a snowman...

I liked it so much that after they left, I just pushed it on out to the display windows. Come on...how cute is that?

Little boys have their moments too. A couple years ago, 2 young boys were doing lots of giggling while their mom's were at the cash register with their backs to their son's antics. I was watching them out of the corner of my eye, and could tell they weren't doing anything serious, but I knew they had indeed done something.

I discovered their mischief the next morning. They had taken all the little resin birds off a table, and put them in a bird cage. Well duh, where else should little birds be?

I very much enjoy the children who come in. Most are well behaved - getting the stern warning from the adults who are with them..."DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!!!!!"

And I have to smile to myself when the little ones look up at mommy or daddy and say, "How come YOU can touch stuff?"

I've been lucky - I hear stories of how destructive kids can be in stores, but I've had very little trouble with that. There was one group of middle school age girls who shoplifted (religious items!). And the little boy who suddenly threw up all over the carpet in front of the counter (which explains why there's a rug there now - the stain didn't come out!).

But overall, the kids who come in are great. This past week I've been giving leftover mini pumpkins away to the kids. I love to see their face light up when they hold their very own pumpkin, and it's just the right size for their little hands.

Store scale

2011-11-08T06:33:00.001-05:00

We picked this scale up at an auction this past summer. Talk about heavy!!! It's rusty as can be, which depending on your perspective, either adds to it's charm or takes away from it.

I've been wondering how it would look painted. I keep visualizing either red or white.

Last night, I was watching an old episode of The Walton's on tv. During a scene in Godsey's Store, I realized Ike Godsey was standing in front of a scale just like this one! I wanted to say, "Ike, please move over! I want a closer look at that scale!"

It was white - and pretty as could be. Since that particular episode was set in the mid 1940's, I'd say that's the era my scale is from.

Now when I watch The Walton's, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled during scenes from Godsey's Store. I want to see that scale again!

Sale

2011-11-04T15:10:00.000-04:00

I've been so busy putting Christmas displays out that I didn't have time to get on here and mention our sale.

Another month flew by, and it's time for our First Friday & Saturday Event again. That means all regular priced items are 20% off during the Event.

You can also sign up for a cute Christmas arrangement that I don't have time to take a picture of! Aack!

Hope to see you today or tomorrow!

November plans

2011-11-01T12:19:00.000-04:00

No camera with me today, so I'll just say I'm busy getting more Christmas out on the floor. I'm not sure if I'll switch the windows over to Christmas this week or the first of next week.

Let me also say, I hate glitter. So what possessed me to buy snowmen called GlitterFolk is beyond me. Let's sum that madness up by saying there is glitter all over my counter, and it's only November 1st.

You can still buy fall crafts at 30% off. That includes many that can still be used for Thanksgiving.

I saw an idea I liked the other day - it said to name something every day that you are thankful for, starting November 1st and ending on Thanksgiving. Making that effort each day makes one think a little harder. It's easy to give the pat answers - thankful for family, friends, jobs, health etc. But it requires a bit more thinking to come up with something different for 24 days.

I'm going to make the effort, how about you?

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T11:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween to you! Do you have big Halloween plans? Our Halloween plans are.......um......well......OK, we have no Halloween plans this year. And we're fine with that.

While lots of you may have been dressing up for Halloween parties this past weekend, we were splitting firewood. Lots of firewood. We told Kevin he may have to quit answering his phone - every time it rings, he gets another order. Just kidding on not anwering his phone, we're glad he's getting so many orders. And, we're happy to help him out. A friend was testing our new splitter, and he said to me, "I bet you never thought you'd be splitting firewood." On the contrary, I love splitting firewood, and have since I was a teenager.

By the way, if you're looking for a splitter, we highly recommend the Splitfire wood splitter. It splits in both directions, and has a hydraulic lift to help lift the logs and act as a work table. It's more expensive than some, but worth every penny. I should have taken a camera, but we were too busy for that.

Back to Halloween - we live back a lane (the one in the picture at the top of the blog), and rarely get trick or treaters. In fact, it's been several years since we've had any at all. Every year, I buy lots of candy just in case, then we end up eating all of it. Since we are trying to lose weight instead of gaining it, I decided this year not to buy any candy. So.......we are hoping we don't get any trick or treaters!

But - if you are taking your little ones out trick or treating tonight - I hope you have as much fun as we did when Jessica and Kevin were little! Lots of good memories of those days!

My OOPS Moment

2011-10-28T18:39:00.000-04:00

When digging around for stuff to paint snowmen on, I ran across an old baking pan that was black, with white specks. White specks like snow! Hey! That would be fun to paint on!

So, I did. I painted a snowman on it, added a couple words, 4 stars and some snowflakes. Good enough! I took it, and several other things outside (in the cold!) to apply some spray varnish. I sprayed everything else first, and in doing so, emptied the can.

So, I ran back inside to get another can of varnish. I grabbed the first one I came to, and started shaking it as I went back out the door. I did notice the can was shaped a bit different at the top, but I just figured it was a new style of can, and didn't think anymore about it.

As soon as I got back outside, I started spraying the snowman painted on the black baking pan. I made a few sweeps across it before I noticed something odd. The clear varnish looked dirty. Actually, the clear varnish had a definite black tint. OH NO! I stopped and looked closer. The clear varnish I was using wasn't clear varnish at all! It was black spray paint!

Well, too late now...........I had no choice but to keep going. I sprayed a light coat of black over the whole thing. It actually worked out rather well.........now it just looks like the snowman was baked on. VERY baked on!

Look closely at the snowman, and you will see the black "smudges". And those star in the corners? They were gold before.............well, before My Oops Moment.

The moral of the story? Put the caps back on the cans before putting them away. You see, I had used the can of black spray paint before - but I didn't put the cap back on. And, when I put it away, I put it with the spray varnish instead of the spray paint. OOPS.

I know it's early but......

2011-10-26T14:38:00.000-04:00

The weather forecast is calling for flurries this week!

Aack! It's not even Halloween yet.

Well, as much as I would like it to still be early summer...

it's not.

Time marches on, Christmas is coming...whether I want it to or not.

So.............

A Christmas preview is out on the floor.

It's actually been out for a few weeks now,

and I'm quite surprised at how much of it has sold already.

I've never had Christmas out this early before,

I guess that has been a mistake in past years!

I was hunting around for a tree topper,

when I thought of this small red pip wreath with stars.

What do you think?

Barnwood signs and firewood

2011-10-24T11:45:00.001-04:00

We had a very busy weekend at our house!

To make a long story short, we worked on firewood and putting a water line from Kevin's house to the chicken coop. Neither job is complete yet, but both have a good start.

If you live in the Moundsville, Cameron, Wheeling area of WV, and need firewood, let me know. Kevin is selling it by the truckload. Sorry, he can't cross into OH or PA with it. There's laws against that!

In between those jobs, I cut up a large pile of barnwood that was sitting smack dab in the spot where the water line was going to go. What will I do with all that barnwood? Well........

Lots of it will become WV signs. I have several other ideas for it as well. Now....I just have to find the time to work on it!

Antique umbrella

2011-10-20T20:39:00.001-04:00

How cool is this?

We picked up this old umbrella at an estate auction. It's made from...are ready for this?...paper!
(Guessing it was a sun umbrella, rather than a rain umbrella!

How old is it? Well, in my best estimation, I'd say REALLY old! It's brittle, yet much stronger than you would expect. It will almost open all the way, but I'm afraid to push it. As you open it, you can hear it protesting, so to speak.

I pushed it open as far as I dared, then put a clothespin on it to hold it open. It's hard to see in the picture, but up in the furthest recesses, there is some whitish mold. I have no idea how to clean it without damaging the paper umbrella, or the skinny wood bracing.

This close-up shows the Japanese writing on the inside. Or is that Chinese? I'm going with Japanese.

Whatever..........I just know it's a really cool treasure!

Country Life = Need some eggs?

2011-10-19T13:44:00.000-04:00

If you walk toward the back of the store, you'll see this.....

We knew Jessica's college refrigerator would come in handy again!

Once you're closer, you can read the sign on the front...

Feel free to open the fridge, where you'll see this...

Eggs from our own chickens!

And what color would they be?

They would be brown...

You may ask why they don't sit "just so" in the carton.

That's because they aren't all uniform in size

like you find in the grocery store.

Now that we have our own, we question why they

always look so perfect in the grocery store!

Maybe a little too perfect.

The eggs we sell are only a few days old at the most.

We are truly selling FRESH eggs!

Wonder how old they are before they reach the grocery store?

We sell them for $2.00 a dozen.

Thanks girls!

Oh, by the way...

how many eggs do you think we get each day?

Usually 23 - 25!

From 29 hens!

29 very busy hens!

If you have any egg cartons laying around,

we'd love to have them!

Country Life = Fallen Leaves

2011-10-17T08:41:00.001-04:00

Last week was a terrible week. One in which we had to say goodbye to 2 friends - a husband and wife whose lives ended in tragedy. Sadness and disbelief have been sitting heavily on our shoulders. Normally, fall is my favorite season, but this year, the vivid colors of the leaves are tinged with sadness.

But yesterday, we decided to spend some time in the woods. We needed to get away from our thoughts for a while. So we headed to my father-in-laws farm.

The leaves aren't nearly as pretty this year as in other years. Maybe it was the weather. We had an extremely wet spring, followed by a very hot summer, and now we're in the midst of too much rain again.

The colored leaves are coming in stages. Some turn, then the rains and winds knock them down before the next ones turn. As a result, we aren't getting the full blast of color.

But the beauty is still there - we just have to look a little harder for it.

I've always felt a deep connection to the woods. Sitting in the midst of the woodlands is where I find my refuge. When I was young, many a moment of teenage angst dissolved in the woods that my parents owned. The first place I would take a new friend was the waterfall that we lovingly called Grandpa's Falls, in memory of my grandfather who had owned the land before my dad did.

Just walking through the woods you see the big things - but when you sit for awhile, you start seeing the smaller treasures.

I know people who are afraid of the woods, but frankly, I just don't understand that. They are so full of peace. I can't walk in them without feeling God's presence.

Other than my families voices, my favorite sound in the world is walking through the fallen leaves. We spent part of the afternoon splitting firewood, but first, I took the camera and walked through the leaves. George smiled and said, "are you here to work or walk in the woods?" I said, "there's crunchy leaves"! And he smiled again, knowing that I was in my haven. And when we were done splitting firewood, he said, "let's go for a walk".

I told him once that if I my mind goes when I'm older, just bring me the fallen leaves of autumn, let me crunch them in my hand, and smell their fragrance. That very well may be the last thing that would reach me.

Ahhhhhh..........Autumn. Thank you God, for giving us autumn.

Emotional times

2011-10-11T11:38:00.000-04:00

It's been a very emotional week.

A happy occasion...
My sister's birthday is today. Happy birthday Jo! I love you!

The anniversary of a terrible...and fantastic day...
Terrible in that 3 years ago today, our son Kevin was stung by a bee, and almost died. Fantastic in that he survived.

A joyous occasion...
Jessica was home for the weekend, and we and a friend got to visit with my niece and her newborn baby boy.

A tragic loss...
While there, we got the terrible news that we all had lost 2 good friends, a husband and wife whose life ended in tragedy. We, and the many others who loved them are having a difficult time processing what happened.

We don't understand, and probably never will. We're trying to focus on better times, on the many happy memories.

Our shop will be closed Thursday so we can attend the funeral services. May God be with the families and the many, many friends of our good friends who lost their lives too soon. We will love and miss them always.

20% off sale for October

2011-10-07T07:58:00.000-04:00

This handmade (by me!) pumpkin set is the door prize for October. To win, all you need to do is stop in the store today or tomorrow, sign your name to a little slip of paper, drop it in a can, and hope you get a call from me next Monday saying you were the lucky winner.

And while you're in the store, you may as well take advantage of the sale!
20% off ALL regular prices!

Friday 9:30 to 5:00
Saturday 9:30 to 2:00

There's still lots of fall to choose from. Most of it is handmade. There's even some real pumpkins grown in our garden!

And, you can take a peek at Christmas, it's making it's debut around the mantle. 20% off.

Hope to see you this weekend!

October Sales Event

2011-10-05T15:13:00.000-04:00

You have 2 chances this week to come in

and save 20% off ALL regular prices in the store!!!

Friday 9:30 to 5:00

Saturday 9:30 to 2:00

Why?

It's our First Friday & Saturday Event.

After days and days of gloomy weather,

we're finally getting the sunshine and warmer temps

that showcase the changing leaves.

What a beautiful month October is!

Take a drive, enjoy our West Virginia scenery,

and when you need to get out and stretch your legs,

stop on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville, come in and say hi!

We would love to see you!

October equals Pumpkins

2011-10-02T22:27:00.005-04:00

I love fall - maybe I mentioned that before.

Look how thick the wood is on the pumpkin above.

An advantage of owning our own saw mill!

And, guess what the brown & orange pumpkins are made from?

An afghan I picked up at Goodwill!

Another pumpkin from the thicker wood.

The witch on the broom has been one of my

favorite painting projects this fall.

Always thankful for a good fall harvest!

From thick to thin...the ornaments are made from luann plywood

that I cut out on our bandsaw.

How about a pumpkin on a shovel?

We never throw away an old shovel that has lost it's handle!

Happy October!!!!!

Facebook and privacy settings

2011-09-29T11:52:00.000-04:00

I just read this article, and thought I'd share it with all of you....

Click here

It's about facebook, and privacy settings. It seems facebook is changing these days at warp speed, with even bigger changes to come in the next few weeks. This article explains how to make sure your privacy settings are set to what YOU want, and not what facebook wants. If you use very many Apps, it needs to be done for each one, and of course, each one is different.

I don't use any Apps myself to try the tips out on, but it looks like the article is pretty easy to follow.

Is it just me, or does it seem we're becoming waaaaaaaaaay too connected? I don't care what song you are listening to on Spotify as you read this, nor do I care what news story you will read on Yahoo after you leave my blog. And I seriously doubt you care about my music and reading habits either! Facebook filling up our tickers and newsfeeds with that kind of stuff seems just ole plain annoying to me.

What do you think?

And rest assured, when you read my blog, I'm not even aware of it, other than seeing a number that shows how many views it has each day. Your privacy is safe here!

Fall Festival photos

2011-09-25T21:27:00.000-04:00

The Jefferson Avenue Fall Festival went very well, especially for a first time event. The weather was perfect, and I'm sure that helped bring out the crowds. We were busy in the store all day.

I didn't get too many pictures, but here's what I had out front on the sidewalk........

How about those warty pumpkins! Kevin grew those in his garden. Click on the picture to see them better.

Why is there a cooler sitting in the display you ask? It had fresh eggs in it from our chickens!

After I took this photo, I looked up to see my sister Jo posing outside the door with the slate I painted. Clearly, by reading it you can tell I had her in mind when I painted it. She on the other hand thought it referred to me.....

If you can't read it, it says...........

If you think I'm a Witch, you should meet my Sister!

x Wicked Witch of the East

Yep, yep, that's talking about her.

Oh, by the way...thanks for helping me out yesterday Jo!
Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fall Festival

2011-09-21T13:55:00.000-04:00

This Saturday (the 24th) there will be a Fall Festival on Jefferson Avenue from 10-4. I'll have the shop open during the festival.

We have lots of fall crafts in, AND, we should have some REAL pumpkins in by then too! They didn't grow as well as they did last year, but we should have a few. They will be out front on Saturday.

They are calling for rain....would you care to join me in a "Don't Rain" dance? So many other areas need the rain, maybe they could take ours on Saturday.

A funny thing happened........

2011-09-19T15:33:00.000-04:00

I found a bunch of bottles in a dump Kevin happened upon. We poked through it over the weekend, and pulled some of the bottles out of the briars and weeds and dirt. Oh the lengths 'Junkers' go to!

Anyway, I'm not feeling particularly clever today, so I just googled "Halloween Potion Names" to get some ideas for making more labels. One of the sites that came up close to the top was..............MINE!

It came to the post you can see here, which gives you a list of words you can use to come up with your own Potion Names.

Ok, ok, I guess I'm back to using my own advice, and I'll be coming up with my own names!

Just like I did on these ones. I did it once, I can get creative and do it again!

Halloween Potion Bottles

2011-09-16T07:52:00.001-04:00

These are my first attempts at Potion Bottles.

So much fun to make!

Sorry for the poor pictures.

My camera doesn't do well with closeups.

But hopefully you get the idea of how they look.

You can click on the photo to see it bigger.

I'm designing my own labels, using words from the list you can see here.

Instead of making potion labels, I should have been making potions.

I picked up a cold somewhere, & have been running a fever for 2 days.

Lousy timing!!!!!!!

Our niece just had her first baby, & I can't go see him!

And...we were going to have a weekend trip to DC with Jessica & Brian.

Can't do that either. Grrr.

On the bright side though, Kevin told me about a dump site he found.

He's thinking it had lots of bottles.

As soon as I'm feeling better, we will be going bottle hunting!

Potions

2011-09-14T16:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm having waaaay too much fun making potion labels and putting them on bottles! See the post below this one for word suggestions. I just finished "the essence of Dragon's Breath". Haha!

Hope to have pics in the next couple of days. I only have a dozen or so bottles, I may have to go on the hunt for more!

Halloween Potion Names

2011-09-13T15:45:00.002-04:00

I'm going to make some Halloween bottles, and I've been looking around on the internet for some potion name ideas. I love, love, love fall, but I get a bit squeamish about Halloween. Witches I can handle, (wonder why?), but fear & blood & gore are NOT my thing. So, potion names are a bit out of my comfort zone. But, I'm trying.

One site suggested several words, and I have added to it. Mix and match them to come up with some potion names all your own!

Ready? Here we go........

Fresh, Dead, Mad, Aging, Reformed, Poisoned, Instant, Live, Life, Old, Young, Sleeping, Death, Un-nerving, Haunted, Eerie, Haunting, Bewitching, Love, Howl

Crushed, Pulped, Diced, Minced, Mixed, Whole, Char-grilled, Poached, Dried, Black,

Wort, Wart, Worm, Pupae, Vetch, Egg, Juice, Weed, Blood, Milk, Spawn, Eye, Intestine, Spleen, Wings, Dust, Soup, Slime, Teeth, Brain, Tongue, Marrow, Nerve, Skull, Skullcap, Breath, Hair, Skin, Bones, Skeleton, Fever, Sting

Tincture, Effusion, Elixir, Speciman, Spirit, Potion, Draught, Spell, Magic, Bitters, Concoction, Brew, Cordial, Dose, Draft, Dram, Libation, Mixture, Remedy, Restorative, Stimulant, Tonic, Compound, Formula, Poultice, Preparation, Prescription, Salve, Soother, Unction, Gargle,

Toad, Frog, Bat, Spider, Scorpion, Rat, Dog, Snake, Cat, Dog, Jellyfish, Dragon, Serpent, Hog, Slug, Skunk, Werewolf, Wolf, Newt, Owl, Raven

Vampire, Witch, Troll, Demon, Faerie, Mermaid, Lovers, Warlock, Wizard, Zombie, Mummy, Phantom, Grim Reaper, Goblin, Ghoul, Ghost, Dracula,

Grave, Cauldron, Pot, Gravestone, R.I.P., Tombstone, Mausoleum, Cemetery, Coffin, Cobweb, Casket, Apparition, Broom, Broomstick, Salem, Moon

Some examples:

Toad Skins - may cause warts.

Black Cat Bitters

Witching Hour Elixer

Aging Potion

Dragon's Breath

Black Raven Wings

Faerie Dust

Love Potion

Ok, enough of that! I'm off to make bottle labels! But if you think I'm going to offer you any of my Elderberry Effusion or Wormwood Tincture, you're wrong. I'm keeping it all to myself.

Bahahahahaha!

We're free! Well...kinda

2011-09-12T16:04:00.000-04:00

Remember the construction nightmare?

Such loveliness just a few feet in front of the shop. In front of every shop. In the whole block. The whole looong block from 3rd to 5th Streets.

For our end of Jefferson Avenue, the worst is over. At least I think the worst is over.

They put that lovely yellow fence up on July 19th. They took it down today, September 12. Yep, if you count on your fingers & toes that comes up to almost 2 months.

Oh yeah, that was good for business.

The construction is not over, but at least the bulk of what was happening right in front of us is over. For us. Now the whole kit and kaboodle is on the northern end of Jefferson Avenue. Now they get to deal with the fence, the noise, the booms that literally shake the buildings. The lack of business.

When either end of the street is worked on, it effects both ends, because this is one of the main drags through town - the main business district - and they have it completely shut off. Parking is still scarce, it's still hard to navigate through all the road closed signs. But at least on our end now, the fence is gone.

We feel like we've been let out of prison!

In memory of September 11, 2001

2011-09-10T13:50:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years.

It seems like yesterday.

We've seen the images hundreds of times.

We see them in our minds, without actually seeing a picture.

The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York...

The Pentagon in Washington DC...

The brave heros of Flight 93 who gave up their lives

in a PA field to save countless others...

The hundreds of emergency workers who did all they could

to save as many as they could.

And the many who gave up their own lives...

And they gave us hope...

Our thoughts & prayers are with the many who lost loved ones that awful day.

In case of fire.........

2011-09-07T11:37:00.002-04:00

I can't imagine fire this destructive. This is a photo I saw on msnbc......you can see more here. The photos are of the wildfires plaguing drought and heat weary Texas.

Then there's the news about all the flooding from storms Irene and Lee. If only there were a way to get the extra water in some spots to the places who need it so badly!

Thinking about fires and floods usually brings up this question - if you had only a few minutes to get out of your house, what would you grab on your way out?

A jewelry store owner told me that the building next to hers caught on fire years ago. The firemen called her, and told her she could get in her store for a few minutes and get out what she needed to. She said she ran inside, looked around, and thought, "what do I take...because when it comes right down to it, it's all just junk". All that expensive jewelry, and she summed it up as just junk when an emergency arose.

She was probably right. If my store building burned, the only thing I would really want to get out would be the paperwork, just because it would be difficult to file our income taxes if that was all lost.

But, at home, it's different....it's more personal........

Of course, we all would get the people out first, and our pets, but then what? For me, the next thing would probably be pictures, though they are scattered all over the house, which probably isn't a good idea now that I think about it.

I'd also want to save the artwork and stories that Jessica and Kevin created when they were little. I actually have some of those things stored in a fireproof safe box. If a robber broke in and stole that box, they would be very dissappointed! No gold or silver, just memories of distant youth.

There are certain "family heirlooms" I'd want to save if I could. Things that used to belong to our parents or even grandparents. Things our mama's made that mean so much to us.

Maybe it would be our computer we would want to grab, especially if it's full of family photos. Maybe a collection we have worked years to build. Or cookbooks, especially the ones full of family recipes.

I hope we never have to face a crisis such as this, and I hope none of you do either!

It's fall!

2011-09-02T22:09:00.000-04:00

One more chance to come to the September Event - Saturday from 9:30 to 2:00. You will save 20% on all regular priced items. And, you can sign up to win these 2 pillows.........

There's lots of fall crafts to choose from in the shop right now.

Love pumpkins!

The next batch of photos were hard to take.

They were taken in the tight confines of the display windows.

There's more fall crafts to come...

after all, it's only the beginning of September!

Stay tuned for more.

Event Weekend for September

2011-08-31T13:56:00.000-04:00

I haven't had time to take photos to update, and a post seems so drab without photos! I've been busy making more fall crafts - if something stands still long enough, it gets a pumpkin painted on it.

Reminder - this Friday & Saturday is our Event weekend.
Storewide sale!
20% off regular prices!

Friday - 9:30 to 5:00
Saturday - 9:30 to 2:00

I had planned to have the Saturday hours till 5:00 on Event Weekends, but...........no one comes in after about 2 or 3. Since it's a holiday weekend, I'll plan on closing at 2.

However, if someone comes in with a fistful of cash that they are just dying to spend, I'll stay open. Seems like the least I can do to help someone in need.

heehee

Fresh eggs. And I do mean fresh!

2011-08-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

I'm supposed to be painting pumpkins right now. I had lots painted, and was going to get pictures of them in the shop to post here. But, they sold before I got the picture, so I'm painting more to replenish. Well, to be honest, I've spent the last hour in the chicken coop. Fascinating creatures they are!

I walked in the coop, and saw these 2 hens trying to use the same nesting box.

The line was forming.

The clucking was getting louder.

The urge was upon them!

It was time to lay an egg, even if there was no more room in the inn!

Ok, this was getting ridiculous.

We have a 3 story inn, they were only using the ground floor.

So, when the second one would get in with the first one,

I'l gently pick up the second one, and move her to the second floor.

Now girls, isn't that better?

A bit more relaxing?

My helper seemed to think so.

I noticed one hen start gently convulsing............

Then I was very excited to see the egg come out!

How cool is that!

I only saw the one come out, but others did lay while I was there.

Oh, the funny shaped eggs are golf balls.

Since these are young hens, just learning the ropes,

the golf ball helps them get the idea.

It's comic to watch them jump in the nest,

and gently move the golf ball around before they lay on it.

"hmmm, I bet I can do that too!"

Every day, we find one egg on the floor in the corner.

I discovered today who the culprit is....

I so wanted to see her lay her egg since she had her backside toward me.

I had the camera pointed at her, and knelt on the floor

till my legs about went to sleep.

I finally gave up, and went outside for a couple minutes.

When I stepped back inside, there it was...

I had just missed it. Oh well.

It's so neat to pick up the eggs just after they've been laid.

So warm in your hand!

We're getting about 13 to 18 eggs a day now.

If you're interested in fresh eggs, let me know.

We're selling them for $2.00 a dozen.

Earthquake

2011-08-23T22:32:00.001-04:00

No pictures, except the ones in our minds of the earthquake we felt today. Believe me, to have felt that much of an earthquake here in WV is memorable. Just not what you expect when you get up in the morning!

I was in the store, where the lovely construction work on the street outside is on-going. I heard a big bang, then the building started shaking. My first thought was that the construction crew had hit a gas line, and that the entire street was going to blow. I felt the building shake, saw things start moving on the walls, and I high-tailed it out the back door. I stood in our parking lot, looked at our building, and could visibly see it swaying.

When I realized it was an earthquake, I was relieved. That didn't seem nearly as frightening as the entire street blowing up!

The quake was centered in VA, near DC. Jessica and Brian live in VA - Brian works in DC, Jessica works in nearby Arlington. As you can imagine, the amount of swaying and shaking we locals felt was nothing compared to what they felt in DC.

They of course felt it very strongly while at work, then went home to find crooked pictures on the wall, and things knocked off shelves. Ummm, isn't that supposed to happen on the OTHER side of the country?

This makes the 3rd earthquake I've felt here in WV in my lifetime. The first (several years ago) was barely noticeable, lasting a few seconds. The second ( a couple years ago) was stronger, lasting a few seconds longer, with a stronger feeling as well.

This one? Ok.....this is as strong as I care to go!

California, you can come pick up your earthquakes anytime.
We've experimented, and we don't care to keep them any longer.
Thanks for sharing, but really, we don't want to play anymore.

Oh! In case you're wondering what the big bang was I heard just before the building started shaking...it was just coincidence. Those construction workers make LOTS of big bangs!

Weekend harvest

2011-08-22T11:55:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we played.

Too bad we can't do that every weekend....

You might say this weekend was a harvest, of sorts.

Well, it was on the tomatos......

Yesterday, they turned into salsa, with enough left to make more salsa.

Or maybe spaghetti sauce.

Or pizza sauce.

As for the rest of the weekend harvest, well, you wouldn't want to bite into any of it. This is just a smidgeon of the fall crafts I was working on last week...

Hey, want to see some fun special effects?

Ok, ok, back to work I go.

Country life = too close for comfort

2011-08-17T09:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I was walking toward the chicken coop, when I noticed something odd on the door. At first I couldn't tell what it was, then I got closer. OH NO!!!

Believe me, a slithering snake is NOT what I want to see on the coop door! Or anywhere near the coop. Or anywhere in the yard, the field, the woods, the valley, the state, the nation, the.........well, let's just say I don't care for snakes.

Naturally, I was home alone at the time. I bravely got a hoe - I have managed to kill a snake or two in the past when the need arose. I didn't want to swing at it while it was on the door though. I'm not that co-ordinated; I could picture glass flying and the snake would still slither away.

It started down the door, and I hoped to get a good swing at it on the ground, but it was too fast, and it got away under the coop.

It's going to be a bit nerve-wracking now to feed the chickens and gather the eggs!

On another note: the shop is closed this week. I have pulled a muscle or something in my leg - it's a loooong story that you really wouldn't be all that interested in. Suffice it to say, my leg gets better, then it gets worse. Funny how it gets better when I rest it, and gets worse when I don't.

And, since the shop is extremely slow right now because of the construction nightmare, it seems to make sense to close for a few days and try to get my leg healed up.

While I'm home, I'm working on fall crafts for the store. And, I will be cleaning up a wood pile, that may be the home of the snake. The hoe will be handy!

Oh by the way, I know all about how good it is to have black snakes around. We still don't want them. But if YOU would like to have them, by all means............take ours!

Country Life = Weekend fun

2011-08-14T21:24:00.001-04:00

It's been a busy weekend! On Friday, George & I bought a new toy. Now that our kids are grown, & we don't have to buy their toys, we can afford one for ourselves now and then! We really bought it for farm work, but who says you can't have some fun once in a while too?

Friday afternoon came the work. Friday evening came the fun. It was a perfect summer evening weather-wise, the heat has finally broke. George & I, along with Kevin and family friend Katie decided to take a ride, and we drove the back roads to our destination - Rosby's Rock.

This rock is huge! I've included an article at the end of this post that tells the official story of the rock. What it doesn't tell is why Rosby's is spelled wrong. It should only have one B, instead of two. As the story goes - the worker's celebrated a little too much when they joined the track of the B&O railroad together. In their drunken state, they spelled Rosby's wrong, adding an extra B.

On Saturday, we picked up Jessica at her mother-in-law's house. She & Brian came home to help his mom get her house ready to sell, since she is in the process of buying a new home. Jessica, Katie & I went to a baby shower for our niece, then in the evening we, along with George & Kevin decided it was time to play on the bikes again. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died, but suffice it to say, it's hard to beat a cool summer evening in the country!

After church today, and a quick picnic, we attended a somewhat surprise 25th wedding anniversary party for George's sister and her husband. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend!

More about Rosby's Rock - taken from http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/127

Rosbys Rock is located in Marshall County about seven miles southeast of Moundsville on Big Grave Creek Road. It marks the spot near where on Christmas Eve, 1852, the last spike was driven to complete the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from Baltimore to the Ohio River, the first rail line linking the Atlantic coast to the Ohio Valley.

Although there was no golden spike, there was a great celebration a few weeks later in Wheeling to commemorate the completion of the railroad and the arrival of the first train. To mark the spot where the final spike was driven the following words were carved upon the rock: Rosbbys [sic] Rock Track Closed Christmas Eve 1852. The stone itself is a huge sandstone rock of 900 cubic yards, about 64 feet long and 20 feet thick.

The nearby village, also called Rosbys Rock, greatly expanded with the advent of the railroad. Eight passenger and eight to 12 freight trains passed through every day at the height of service. The last passenger train made its final run through Rosbys Rock on October 26, 1957. After the final freight runs in 1972–73, the line was abandoned and removal of the tracks and bridges began in 1974.

With the railroad gone, Rosbys Rock returned to being a small town with only one general store and a few homes. Now even the store is gone. But the village and its great rock remain, reminders of a busier time.

Construction nightmare

2011-08-10T17:08:00.000-04:00

Want to see what our little world looks like in front of the store right now?

The street is being torn out for a sewer line project.

They have fenced the street off, and took over.

Keep in mind, this is the main business district.

With lots of shops.

Shops with business owners who depend on their sales for their living.

Shops who employ several people.

Shops who have have very few customers these days.

Why?

Because the construction has shut down the entire street.

Which of course has shut down parking.

Sidewalks are open, and city parking lots are open.

But - most people don't want to have to walk so far.

Or - for health or age reasons, they CAN'T walk so far.

Gotta love this particular machine.

Every time it goes by, the whole building shakes.

I realize this project has to be done....but it seems like it could have been handled differently. Surely there's a way it could be done without devastating the businesses. An example? The first week the fence was put up, there was no work done! The street was blocked for a week for nothing.

Do I sound a bit bitter? Probably because I am, as are the other business owners. I heard this morning that one of the stores business is down 60%. That's probably the case with everyone, but he was brave enough to crunch the numbers.

This is the 3rd week, it's supposed to last till October. I heard a rumor that they are running into problems, and won't be done till December. I certainly hope that is just a rumor that is wrong. Time will tell I guess.

For those customers who have braved the mess and the noise and came in........I sincerely thank you! All of us along Jefferson Avenue could use your support.

I keep reminding myself of my mom's wise words when bad things happened....

This too shall pass.

Country Life = An unwanted invasion

2011-08-08T10:32:00.000-04:00

Want to see some really, really cute animals?

Aren't they sweet?

Aren't they innocent?

NO!!!!!!!!

At our little farm, we feel like we've been invaded. We complain about damage from the deer. Let me tell you, deer are not nearly as destructive as raccoons!

Last year, our peach tree was loaded. We froze peaches for a couple dozen pies, we gave lots away, we shared with the deer, who would come up every evening and nibble around. There was plenty for all of us.

This year, we won't be getting a single peach. The raccoons took them all. Every last one. Before they were even ripe.

One evening, we came home late, and George walked up to the front door to unlock it. In the darkness, he heard something growling at him. He backed off, and we went in another door, then flipped on the light and looked out the front door. It was a raccoon who had been growling at him.

Saturday, none of us thought to gather the eggs from the chicken coop. George went down early Sunday morning to gather them, there were none. In the dust we saw why - raccoon tracks. We've been getting 8 or 9 eggs a day, the raccoons ate them all. Luckily, they didn't bother the chickens on the roost. It must have been a baby who wasn't big enough to tangle.

So what are we going to do about it?

Well, let's just say war has been declared.

And we intend to win.

August First Friday & Saturday Event

2011-08-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

Another month has rolled by! It's time for the August First Friday & Saturday Event.

Remember, this features a 20% off sale on all regular priced merchandise!

And if you buy anything during the Event, you'll get a coupon to use anytime during the rest of the month that is also good for 20% off.

And, you can sign up for this month's door prize:

The winner will get both laundry pictures, a $30 value. No purchase necessary. The winner will be drawn Monday morning.

Jefferson Avenue is under construction due to a sewer line project. It's being done in sections, and right now, the street in front of our store is tore up. As in....holes. Big holes. And equipment. Big equipment.

So, much of the Avenue is blocked to vehicle traffic. But, the sidewalks are open. And the city parking lots are open.

If you buy something too big to carry a bit of a distance to your car, you can pull in the back lot behind us to pick up your purchase.

The construction has been hard on business for all the shops on the Avenue. We really, really, really appreciate the folks who are coming to see us despite the construction.

We hope to see you this weekend!

Cabbage revelation

2011-08-01T11:39:00.001-04:00

I've discovered something about cabbage. I'm sure the curiousity is killing you, so I'll get right to it.

During the winter, I buy the bagged cabbage that is already shredded. I mix it with slaw dressing in the morning if we want to have it for supper in the evening. But if I'm cutting up my own cabbage from what we grew in our garden, it's better not to add the dressing till just before we eat. If I add it in the morning, it gets a bit runny by evening.

We were wondering why the difference, then it occurred to us:

The bagged cabbage is older, and somewhat dried out. It needs all day to "soak up" the dressing.

Our fresh cabbage still retains it's moisture, so if it sits in the dressing all day, it gathers too much moisture and gets runny.

Another reason to grow your own, or support your local farmer's market if you have one!

We're going to experiment this fall by growing late cabbage. In the past, we've only grown it in the spring. We had lots this year, and are still eating some of it. We left it in the garden as long as possible, then picked it and put it in the fridge. It will keep quite awhile if you cut off the outer leaves, then just put the head in a plastic grocery bag. When you're ready to eat it, just remove a couple layers and the inside is still fine.

We all like coleslaw, but George LOVES coleslaw. He could eat it every day. Most of the summer, we've been having it a couple times a week, but we're getting close to running out. I think we only have a couple heads left. He may go into withdrawal! We better figure out quick when to get the fall crop planted!

Gas range

2011-07-29T08:21:00.000-04:00

If you have been in the shop, you may remember this old gas range, and another one that was similar to it....

We bought these several years ago at an auction, and George & I manhandled them into the shop. HEAVY!!! Luckily, a man happened to be walking down the street, & he jumped in and helped us out. The kindness of strangers!

At first they were display pieces, but after a couple years, I decided to sell them. No takers. Lots of folks admired them, & said the price was very reasonable.....but no takers. I gave a downright cheap price to anyone who seemed remotely interested.....but no takers. A few people said they would be back to buy them.......but none ever came back.

This went on for a couple years. They needed to go, the shop keeps getting fuller, and these HEAVY stoves were in the way.

So what is a shop owner to do? Sometimes tough decisions have to be made.

In the past, we have had big pieces of furniture that didn't sell. Especially organs. We took them apart, and the individual "architecture" pieces sold.

So..........we took the stoves apart.

We salvaged anything we could, starting with the cool doors.

We debated awhile, then decided to go ahead and keep the side panels.

This is my favorite piece.

Since George was doing the actual "taking apart", I'm not sure where each piece came from.

So I don't know what this piece was, but it's still attached at the top, and if you spread the bottom a little, it forms an easel.

These are the burner rings, or whatever you call them. Don't they look like flowers? When they were on the stove, I never noticed that. When you start taking something apart, the detail suddenly jumps out at you.

We even saved the oven racks. They are rusty, which makes them very fashionable so to speak.

They would make good herb drying racks.

What couldn't be salvaged went to the scrap yard, so there are no parts sitting in a landfill.

Yes, it seems a shame to take apart such a cool piece of history. But, I tried to sell them as the complete package, I really, really tried. As I said............no takers.

And I can't keep everything that doesn't sell, no matter how cool it is.

If I did, I'd become a TV star.

But...I don't really want my claim to fame to be that I was the featured Hoarder on cable TV!

WV barnwood signs

2011-07-27T08:15:00.000-04:00

I just painted a new batch of West Virginia barnwood signs.

This is the real deal, barnwood taken from a couple different barns.

You can see red paint on a few of them...

that is the original red paint from the barn.

How cool is that?

The only problem is.......

I can't seem to find a good way to display them for pics.

So I just propped some against the counter.

And laid the shorter ones on top of it.

I promise...

they are displayed better out on the floor for sale

than they are in these pics!