Snowmen

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!

Thanksgiving

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?

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

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!

I've got a BooBoo

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

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

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 follower, 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

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?

Kids do the Darndest Decorating

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

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!