How I spent my time away

So it's really been 6 weeks since I last posted but I have a good excuse.....no really, I do. 

1)  Time flies the older we get but to where I have no earthly idea or even an unearthly idea.  Wait that's it, I was kidnapped by aliens and they kept me 6 weeks so they could study the habits of a middle age, menopausal woman that is clearly crazy! 

2)  Took my annual Dirty Martini Queen's trip to Nashville with Dana and Kathie. We laughed until we cried,  walked until I cried,  shopped, ate, drank and most importantly danced for 3 glorious nights.  I love my DMQ and we just have so much fun when we're together that I wish we could make it happen more than once a year.

3)  I've still been taking my painting classes and have finished 2 projects now.  I still sux at it but I'm enjoying the friendship of the painting gals and I can tell I'm learning things even though I have trouble translating that to my work.  We started a huge Christmas ball last night and it's my favorite project so far.

4) Halloween happened so that a build up for me because y'all know how I love any and all things Halloween.  We had a lot of trick or treaters especially considering it was cold, rainy and started snowing later that night.

5)  I've been beyond addicted to learning a new craft.....I took rug hooking classes finally.  I've been wanting to learn how to hook since 1994 when I bought my first book but was too busy/scared to try it.  I bought 2 more books in 2004 again in an attempt to teach myself....cough...ahem....yea that didn't work out for me either.  So fast forward 20 years and now I'm Hooked on Hooking.  I love everything involved with hooking and might have developed a slight obsession.  I know you can't believe that because I surely can't be that bad yet since I've only been doing it 3 weeks but hmmmmm, have you met me?  I tend to jump into projects with both feet, if you don't go big go home type of mentality and hooking is no different!  I have scoured thrift stores for wool like almost daily.  I have amassed quite a wool stash and love the thrill of the hunt.  Then yesterday I hit the mother load of EVERYTHING Hooking that newbies and experts dream about stumbling onto.  I found a lady on craigs list that is selling her entire hooking inventory because she just doesn't use it enough.  The lady lives in Alabama about 2 1/2 hours from us but this is too good of a deal to pass up and the drive into the mountains would be beautiful so off I went.  She used to own a cross stitch store and now owns a quilting store along with she weaves and makes penny rugs so she had no time for hooking any more.  She wanted to pass her incredible collection on to someone that would use it so that's where I come in.  I got a frame, hoop, 7 different hooks, 20 books, 4 years of Rug Hooking magazines, class sheets, monk's cloth, linen, Fraser cutter with 3 different dies and 7 huge sacks of wool that is ready to go.  I just swooned  when she kept pulling things out.  This stuff is so clean, odor free and everything looks new so all I have to do is get it organized and start hooking. 

I've finished the second square now but don't have any pics of it yet. 

6)  Planning a trip back to Germany the first of December since Mark needs to attend a meeting over there.  We're making it into a vacation for 10 nights just visiting Christmas Markets, eating wiener schnitzel, drinking great beer and everything else we loved about living over there.  I see Germany thru rose colored glasses that may or may not be the correct prescription.  LOL!

7)  Joined a couple of new facebook groups which keep drawing me back in to see posts multiple times per day..... Ok you got me, multiple times per hour to see what Prim decorating, prim cross stitch and rug hooking ideas/pics have been posted that I must do NOW!!!!! 

There's been other stuff happening as well but those are the highlights.....lol!
Clarice is sending y'all kitty snuggles and hopes that someone will stop her momma from hooking because it's just embarrassing to say "My momma's a hooker, what does your momma do for fun"?

Happy Fall Y'all

It's that time a year again.....my favorite time of the year!!!!  I love when the air gets crisp, leaves start to turn and it's everything Punkins!!!!  I've already had 2 pumpkin lattes from Starbucks and made chocolate chip pumpkin bread but best of all decorated the house for Halloween.  It's just my favorite holiday to decorate for and since I haven't done it in 3 years it was all new stuff to me.  I sold a lot of things at my garage sales but still have way too much stuff so there are still boxes that I didn't even open.  This house is so open so not as much display room but that's ok because less is more!  I don't have any of my fall stuff out just Halloween so I'll get to extend my joy longer when I put away the ghosts and goblins to bring out the turkeys and pumpkins.  Now remember everyone that I decorate every room in the house for Halloween so it takes me a couple days at best because all pictures get replaced, all décor is swapped out and I do mean ALL.

Mark was in Germany last week for meetings so Clarice and I stayed up late playing house, reading, tweaking things and watching all the bad tv we could stand.  And since I had to drop him off at the Nashville airport I finally got a chance to go shopping at a prim store that I've been dying to go to.  OMG it was prim perfection and I could have just moved into her store because it was so very nice.  The store is called Bittersweet Primitives and she is 92% all American made products which made shopping there even better!  There were items in every price range and some wonderful antiques that I just drooled over.  She's even got a rug hooking room and is going to start classes which I will happily drive 1 1/2 hours to attend.  I just loved everything.  Then I scooted over to an antique mall to browse and while there I found the largest Yellow Ware bowl I'd ever seen.  There were no chips, cracks or anything on the bowl so I was standing there petting it when Mark called.  He was is Atlanta on his layover home so I was telling him all about it when he said "Just buy it".  I love this guy!  No seriously my birthday was yesterday and he's been busy so he said he didn't have time to try to find me something so if I liked it that much just get it.  Well that along with the fact the bowl was not stupid expensive took away all my guilt in buying it.  I have no idea where I'm going to put it because it's punchbowl huge but it is simply beautiful.  Love it!!!!!!!!

 Shelf in Master Bedroom

Guest Bathroom

 Guest bath

 Jelly Cabinet in Kitchen

 Close up of Jacks and only the 2 on the second shelf are vintage

 Living Room

Wanna Play?  This is a mix of vintage noise makers and repros

 Pie Safe in LR just love me some Black Kitties!

Punkin Gal that I've owned for 25 years.  She was my first purchase on ebay all those years ago when internet was dial up and it took hours to view anything.

Clarice was keeping a watchful eye on me

Close up of shelf in LR.  The little jack on the bottom right is completely handcarved out of a pecan shell?  Such a talent to be able to do something that tiny and still have it be perfect.

Wish I knew the artist of this kitty but Mark bought her for me in Indianapolis and he took the tags off her.  She's just amazing

 

Nook

2nd thing I bought from ebay was these boxes

Bought 20 years ago and still my style! I was prim way before anyone else caught the bug.  LOL!

 Mr Owl was bought at the prim store last week.  Isn''t he just too cool?

Dining Area

 Close up of hutch

Coven of Witches

 Thanks for stopping in everybody and drop in again real soon!  Now I'm off the read the last couple of weeks blog posts because I've been slacking lately. 

We interupt this summer for the FLU

Dang it all but Mark and I have confirmed as #3 & 4 Flu B.  The flu vaccine isn't even available in our area yet but they reported 5 peds cases and 4 adult cases so far.  Have you ever had the flu test done? I swear the nurse ran that swab up into my brain and even after 24 hours I can still feel it. We're on tamiflu so hopefully it'll help end our misery soon. Right now we're surviving on red Popsicles, Wendy's Frosties and cup of soup and doing a lot of sleeping.  Dang!

World's longest yardsale

Well I survived shopping the world's longest yard sale without too much bloodshed, cash spent or damaging the truck.  Seriously it was a fun thing to mark off my bucket list even though I didn't buy a lot but what I did buy I love.  It was just crazy traffic and crowds but really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I got to explore the countryside.  I shopped from Jamestown, Tn to the Georgia/Alabama border so I covered a lot of ground and it was hot, dirty, muggy, humid, horrible rain storms, ect.  I came home every afternoon just wiped out and so ready for a shower but  I can't wait until next year:)

I wanted to buy a pie safe or step back cabinet to display my ever growing yellow ware collection but couldn't find that one piece that just would have been perfect.  Don't get me wrong, I saw a lot of cabinets and some of them had hefty price tags but most were priced about right where I thought they should be.  Still just couldn't commit to anything because they all were just not right....one smelled like mouse pee ;(  really, really  bad and the guy had even painted the interior in hopes of killing the odor but it didn't do anything but make it smell like mouse pee paint fumes. 

Another had the right patina but replacement glass,

 another had great red paint that the dealer swore was original but it just didn't feel right and I seriously think it was not original paint so went with my gut feeling and passed on it.

 the last one I seriously looked at had original wavy glass but had been refinished so the patina was gone and if I learned anything from Antiques Roadshow, it's that refinishing ruins a piece!  The guy wanted $900 and it was refinished so way overpriced in my opinion.

But I did pick up some great items and spent less than $100 including lunch all three days.  Oh and I even had a funnel cake so score!

Huge stoneware pitcher $4, Red Wing stoneware soap dispenser $9, silver porringer $2(which I'm hoping will tarnish up so it'll be more prim) and prim doll/pillow $5

Ironstone Platter $3, vintage rickrack/seam tape $1, mini butter pat plate was free and vintage needlework scissors Free, pewter mug $5, silver loving cup $5

Bottom of the pewter mug is engraved Cape of Good Hope which is in South Africa but I'm having trouble dating it

The loving cup is heavy and it's engraved New Orleans Sugar Bowl which I thought was just way cool

Most expensive purchase was this huge dough/noodle board and soap saver for $55

 

Mark asked that I restrain from buying any chairs since the dang movers told him that they lost count of all my chairs after 38.  They also suggested that I might just have a chair problem.....which I admit but fortunately until that time Mark hadn't really noticed.  So apart from no chairs and don't wreck the truck I was unrestrained to shop!  While at one stop,  I happened upon this sweet little girl that was free with any purchase so I jokingly sent Mark a picture of what I could get for free by purchasing just one more chair.  I carried her around the entire field of great junk before I dropped her back off because my lease states specifically that the house is rented to Mark and Donna Harris and One Cat.  Mark was very quick to remind of that fact!

 

I also wanted to buy this pet stroller but figured walking a cat on a lease is probably about as Crazy Cat Lady as I want to be besides it was $100

 

Wahoo now I can't wait until next year!!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica

Yes before the vacation I walked around singing that all the time.  This was the best vacation because we did NOTHING!  We stayed at The Royal Plantation which we stayed at 7 years ago and it was everything we remembered it to be.  There are only 70 suites so it's very personal.  It's all inclusive so no worrying about what drinks and food cost and we just relaxed.  You can do as much or as little as you want and we chose the little route for 10 days :)  We were on the beach from 9-4 every day just napping, drinking, swimming and I even did some reading  (yep I read 5 books and started #6 on the last day)  The tv stayed off the entire trip,  limited internet access and cell phone service so we were off the grid and loved it!  You are assigned a butler for your entire stay and given a cell phone to call them 24 hrs a day so they can fulfill your every wish but we felt like that was too much pressure so we left the phone in the room the entire time.  The only request we had the entire trip was get mint for mojitos at the bars.  Come on, we're in Jamaica so we must drink rum based drinks and mojitos are refreshing in the heat.  Our butler, Chase was just surprised that we really preferred to just be left alone and no requests or demands.....I guess some people abuse them and the services but we truly just wanted to not be followed around or even interaction except making us dinner reservations.  It was heavenly and Mark finally just relaxed.  I hated to leave but I sure was missing Clarice a lot and I knew she missed me so I was ready to get home to her.

 

 

The most interaction we had was with the peacocks which begged for treats at breakfast and lunch.  You had to be careful because they'd steal your french fries off your plate if you weren't paying attention.