Thursday, December 29, 2011

Looking ahead......Always

I always love these days between Christmas Day and New Years Day. A time of reflection as well as expectation.  And like most everyone else, I like to think about what my goals for the fresh shiny new year will be. This year I am keeping to the same one as last year: Try to be more present in the moment....... live each day to the fullest, well, you get the idea. I am a habitual list maker as well.........I am going to try to ease up on the list making. (I always lose them anyway)

But here's the problem........even as I think those thoughts, write those words,  my mind wanders here.....

To the garden.................................

Where  the garlic is the only thing standing right now..........
but soon..........
And the seed catalogs are arriving daily......
and I am making LISTS of seeds and varieties to try. 

See my problem??


This morning while outside getting some air, I looked at Bella and thought
I need to be more like her..........play NOW......
run NOW..........have a bisquit NOW!!!!
Didn't someone write a book .....something like........
"everything I need to know in life to be happy I learned from my dog??"

Wishing you the Happiest New Year ever!!!!!!!
                                 
                                  
                           

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Enjoying The Season

little by little.........
I am getting things done......................

Tree is finally up,
well it was UP, but now it is decorated!!



The only new ornaments I got this year were
these handpainted gourds.



OK, that's done
Next the fun part........baking!!
How about you?
Are you ready?



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

MOVING ON

She gets a New Life..............

Recently I have been taking apart some jewelry
that I made a few years ago. Things that didn't sell,
that I never finished ,or that just needed a makeover! 

This tintype was once part of a different necklace,
one that couldn't have been more different.
It was pretty blingy.......... think old rhinestones, that type of thing.
I think mixing it with these vintage trade beads
is an interesting pairing.

"Camouflage"
                                                                 

Saturday, December 10, 2011

A Virgin A day.......Day 10

In The Garden............








Our lady of The Pacific Northwest Garden?

This arch in our garden that we built last year was made mostly
from wood we found in a give away pile along the road, and a few bits I had picked
up here and there. 
When we were all done and stood back to have a look,
the pattern reminded me of a halo or aura of light.
I had a statue of The Virgin in my art supplies
that I had picked up at a yard sale for ten cents
because it was chipped on the bottom.
Seemed a perfect match.
It's nice when working in the garden to look up and see her watching.
It's cooooooold here now so
I have her tucked into some evergreen boughs.

Linked to Rebeccas blog Recuerda mi Corazon
for the tenth day of
A Virgin A Day.



   
                                                                        

Friday, December 9, 2011

A Virgin A Day.......Day 9

Saint Anne and The Virgin Mary..................


As I have been thinking so much about Mary this week, I found myself
wondering about her as a child.
As a young woman.
I found this painting depicting Mary as a child with her mother Saint Anne
and thought it was so beautiful I wanted to share this with all of you
for Day 9 .

Linked to Rebeccas blog Recuerda mi Corazon/.
Join us there as we continue our journey.

                                                                   

photo credit here                                                            

                                                                       

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Virgin A Day.......Day 7

Small Cigar Box Wall Shrine.................








I made this small wall shrine out of a cigar box
last year.
It is home to a small Icon from Poland.
( it happened to be in my Christmas stocking one year :)

Linked to Rebeccas blog
along with lots of other amazing blogs
sharing more amazing Marys,
As we continue our journey
with Day 7 of A Virgin A Day.



( I apologize for the darkness of the photos. )


                                                       

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A Virgin A Day....Day Six

 Mary............................................

 
                                                                           
(photo.....Steph)

                           A little religious "kitch."..........
                     But I can't help it.........I love it!!!!!!
                            ( it even plays music!!)
                           Still beautiful in it's own way.

                                           Prie Pour Nous........................
                                           (Pray For Us)

Linked to Rebeccas blog, Recuerda mi Corazon
Please go there to visit the sites of others on this
journey, and join in.

Edited to add: this treasure belongs to my friend Steph......who lives in Belgium.

Monday, December 5, 2011

A Virgin A Day.......Day Five

                                                                
   
            The Black Madonna of Czestochowa
    
This image of Mary has always fascinated me.
As well as the history and legends surrounding her.

Linked  to Rebeccas blog Recuerda mi Corazon/
as we continue our journey with Day Five of
A Virgin A Day.
                                                                     

Sunday, December 4, 2011

A Virgin A Day.......Day 4

From Friends..........................

La Vergine Col Figlio
(The Virgin With Child)
Vatican Rome Gallery
(A lovely old postcard from Steph)

Our Lady of  Perpetual Help
(A prayer card from Kathy)

I keep these tucked in to the door on my altar.



Linked to Rebecca at Recuerda mi Corazon
In celebration of 
A Virgin A Day 


                                                                

Saturday, December 3, 2011

A Virgin A day.....Day Three

                                                                              

I wear Our Lady on my sleeve.

My coat sleeve...........

For all the world to see.


Linked to Rebeccas blog, Recuerda mi Corazon
for day three of the celebration of
A Virgin a Day .


                                                                                  

Friday, December 2, 2011

Support Small Business

Duvall Books......................
                                                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Today I had to run to town to go to the post office,
so I decided to stop into the book store
to see if a book I had been wanting had turned up yet. It had!!
It made me realize how lucky we are to have this store,
and how sad I would be if we were to ever lose it.

Others have said it and said it well,
but it bears repeating.........
In this time of year when we are all spending a bit more,
try to remember to support your local small town businesses
if you can.

  So......... I thought I would show you one of my favorite small
book stores,

When 's the last time you saw a bird skeleton
hanging on the wall at Barnes and Noble?
I wonder if coming here is one of the reasons my kids both turned out
to be such avid readers???
(my grandson loves this store too!)

Everywhere you look........something
fun!!!

Open 7 days a week,
and until 9 on Saturdays.
We like to go out to dinner then stop in and sit around
and poke through the books.
I know, get a life, right?

Great selection of used and suprisingly current books.
(antique and obscure as well)

Meet Polly, always happy to help you find what you are
looking for, or to put you on the list and call you when
it comes in. (and it will)
Plus, she is always wearing the best vintage clothes ....!!!!!
We need these small stores.
Please support the ones in your town,
(especially the book stores, which
I have a special fondness for :)
                                                                            

A Virgin a Day.......Day 2

Old Russian icon

Please visit Rebecca at her blog  here
to find many links
to other blogs that are celebrating  A Virgin a  day.

                                                                          

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Twelve Days of Mary

Day One.......



Rebecca at  Recuerda mi Corazon is hosting a celebration......
The Twelve Days  of Mary..................
with postings each day in honor of
Our Lady.




Our Lady of  Guadalupe ............my belt buckle from Junk Gypsies


You can go to Rebeccas blog
to see more Virgins
and take part in the celebration!!

                                                                                 

Monday, November 21, 2011

Junk and Rubbish

Same estate sale.........part two........2 weeks later

Some of these pictures are for Vix........who told me that where she lives
they don't have estate sales like we do, where you actually
go in the house and rummage around. 
This was a fairly good size log home, and you can see from the driveway 
how much traffic there was at this sale over the course of several weeks.
This couple, one deceased and one now going into an assisted living 
situation, had owned several antique stores. 
Thus accounting for the amazing amount of accumulation.

Inside the house........ I didn't spend much time inside since I had been in there 2 weeks ago.
Just a quick walk through on my way to the back, to see if they had added anything new.
I know, it doesn't look like a lot now, but remember, this is after already having a 3 day sale
two weeks earlier.(and marking everything 50% off the last day) The company handling the sale said they had been there for a month and a half getting ready.

There was different items, but the same type of things  as before.
Nothing for me.

This was the second building, a carriage house with a loft.
Again jammed packed, and they had brought different things from the warehouse into here as well.

Looking back at the house I just came from, you can see that the porches
were packed too. Things like metal bathtubs, cream separators, nautical things...
metal lockers, antique stoves of all sorts, giant scales,
just stuff!!
See the lighter ring on the house? Someone took a wheel of some sort
from there.

Back side of the carriage house.
The first day of first sale this area was packed with galvanized wire
type items. Baskets, carts, etc.
YUP!! Gals wiped it out fast!!
There were two cute young gals getting their picture taken with their
huge pile of "loot". They were starting a business and this was the first stuff they had bought for it.

OK, here we go....... the big draw for this part of the sale,
a huge metal warehouse, packed to the rafters,
laid out in aisle after aisle after aisle.
You had to dig, but actually it was pretty well organized,
boxes were labeled fairly well.
clock parts, fuses, lamp parts, bottles, dishes,
horse tack parts, bins and bins of nuts and bolts and that type
of thing.

This place was full of men.......men in their glory.........
men not talking........ just digging!!!
And of course several women as well.
This doesn't show how big the place was because at the front right there is a workshop .
So farther back it opens up again to the right.
Someone mentioned they had seen a rat.......that cleared
out some gals.

 So here's my loot. Not much.
And so dirty I probably shouldn't have even put it on the rug.
A box of rusty stuff for jugs, some glass canning jar lid thingies for
my upcoming leaded glass project.
cigar boxes, a spool of wire, chain, a big conk,
an old fire alarm sprinkler head that is kinda cool.

Two sewing baskets, no beads and coins on top,
but I am thinking of playing with them a little.
I don't know what that chain thing on the cigar box is.
It has a mans name, a town in Mass. and the number 60.
There was a lot of old horse tack and civil war stuff.
Could this be old tack?
I would love to hear from anyone that has any idea.

Two weeks ago when everything went 50% off I went back and bought 11 old crock whiskey
jugs for making memory jugs. I was hoping to find a lot of "stuff" to use making them. Didn't happen.
The sale had been open already for an hour when I got there.
And wouldn't you know, there was a guy with his truck loaded full!!!
Smack in the middle was the front grill from an old car. DAMN!!!!
I have been wanting one of those for a lonnnnnnnnng time. 

Oh Well.................................


However.........................................

I did see my neighbor Jennette from Smashing Rubbish  at the sale.
So after going home and cleaning up..(really really good...did I mention rats??)
I drove over to her shop, and visited a bit with her.
Look how cute her shop is!!

She had two fun customers in there shopping that were all
dressed in vintage complete with furs. She carries quite a bit of vintage clothes
and they were in checking it out.

Hey! Speaking of conks!!!

It's not a large shop, more boutique like,
plus her studio.

You can find Jennettes blog Smashing Rubbish here.
She has better pictures.......
check it out!

So my question to you is............
when you are in that type of situation.....dusty, musty,
possible rodents.....do you wear gloves? mask?
I do on occasion see people doing that.
I am thinking it might be a good idea.
What do you do/think?