Fabric scissors

I saw this on facebook this morning, and it cracked me up.......

Growing up, this was a hard and fast rule. The fabric scissors were for fabric, and fabric only!!! We didn't dare use them for anything else! We didn't want to take a chance on unleashing the fury of our normally sweet natured mother!

And, when I grew up and had a home of my own, the rule went with me.

My mom was a wonderful seamstress who made many of our clothes, including my wedding gown. (though she said if she had it to do over again, she would have just bought my gown! lol)

My sewing skills are limited to craft projects. Which means my fabric scissors don't get nearly the work-out hers did. But still.

They are for fabric, and fabric only.

That's just the way it is.

Ted in the above picture must not have grown up in a sewing household, or he would have known better!

"Junkin" finds

 

Always on the lookout for more sleds!

Oh, by the way, that school desk on the left?

 That's the kind I used in grade school.

Ahhh, memories.

 

 

I love this old chair with arms.

Perfect for your porch.

 

 

Note part of the wagon wheel spokes are missing on the left lower side.

We call that "character".

 

Another school desk.

We've been finding several different styles lately.



We bought this park bench mainly to have a spot where customers can sit

and rest a spell. But, a couple people have shown interest in buying it, so......

I may be on the lookout for another seat for customers to sit and rest a spell.

 



 

My favorite thing about this chair is the way it folds up.

Which I didn't get a picture of.

Oops.

 

 

These sold within an hour or so of being put on the floor.

With 2 other people also wanting them.

Where can I find a dozen more?!?

 

Can't you just see them this time of year

with pumpkins and mums spilling out of them?

 

Or ferns in the summer?

 

 

Windows, windows, windows.

Always in demand.

 

So many uses for old windows!

Plow with a surprise twist

We bought this marking plow at an auction over the weekend. Isn't it cool?

 

But what's really cool is how it turned out in the photo. Look closely just under the handles. See the ghost?

It's actually in the opposite display window, but it's reflection showed up in the photo. How fun is that!

You never know where a ghost might be lurking..............

HA!

Shop harvest and Home harvest

It's harvest time! Both at my craft shop and at home. Late summer/early fall is always a very busy time of year for me.

 

Turning this.........

 

into this.......

 

 

And this.........

   

 

into this..........

 

 

*And this.......

 

 

 into this.......

 

 

There's not much I can do about the timing of the garden. You plant in the spring & harvest in late summer/early fall. That's just the way it is.

 

There is certainly something I can do about the crafting harvest though. I can sew and paint pumpkins in the heat of summer. Or the harsh cold of winter.

 

But somehow, I always end up crafting pumpkins at the same time as I'm harvesting the garden. I never learn........

 

I had planned to sew some Indian Corn for the craft harvest, but when one of my handmade suppliers beat me to it, I happily placed a wholesale order with her......

 

 

Why? Because the green beans may be pulled up, the corn may be cut down and the stalks fed to the cows, the cucumbers and cabbage are long gone...but the tomatos are still going strong. There's more juice and salsa and tomato pieces for chili etc. to can.

 

In case you're wondering what we do with all that tomato juice, I'll tell you. It's the main ingredient in the best Tomato Soup you will ever taste.

 

Sorry, no photo, but I'll tell you how we do it.

 

Stir together:

3 TBSP sugar

4 TBSP flour

 

Stir this into 1 quart tomato juice. Heat to just boiling, stirring often.

 

SOOOOO much better than condensed soup! Once you've eaten this homemade tomato soup, you'll never be able to eat condensed tomato soup from a store again. Well...that's been our experience anyway.

 

You can use store bought tomato juice, but I'll warn you, it's not the same. Years ago, we ran out of juice and bought some brand that tasted pretty good when made into soup. But I don't remember what brand it was, and we've tried again from time to time if we ran out of our own juice. We've never found a good substitute for our own juice again. It may be out there, but we haven't found it again.

 

This soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is a winter classic in our house, especially when we come home on a cold winter's day after church and want something hot in a hurry. Ahhh, good stuff.

 

*Keepin' em honest - I did not take this green bean picture. I don't have a picture of our green beans, and we have already pulled the plants up since they are done producing. Google brings up just about any picture you want, and that is where I found this one that looks like the green bean plants did in our own garden.

 

The rest of the pics are mine. All mine. Honest.

    

A Couple Unique Pieces

We're always on the lookout for unique antiques. Something different. Our last junkin' trip netted us these goodies...

"What is it" you say? Good question! We're calling it a grain drill piece. We have two of them, this one has the curved doodad on the front.

 

And this one doesn't. Other than that, about all I can tell you about them is that they are heavy! I love the architectural feel of them, they are just super cool. (can you use the words 'super cool' when describing antiques?)

 

 

This is a...a...a...

Well, we have no idea what it is. When we bought it, there was a tag on it that said Daisy board, but that didn't help us any. It's obviously a board off of something old, possibly some piece of equipment.

As we buy things, we jot them down on a piece of paper. I said to George, "what do I call this?" He said, "write down snow board, we'll know which piece that was."

So there ya go, it's a snowboard. Or not.

Probably not.

But it's super cool!

My window displays for the Cost of Freedom

Moundsville's Cost of Freedom ends today. It's been lots of work for many people, but a work well worth the effort. We'll never be able to show enough honor and respect and appreciation to our military. We owe them more than we can ever begin to repay.

Many folks who came commented on how impressed they were with how our town came together for this event. The majority of the storefronts had their windows all decked out in military memorabilia. Lots of red, white and blue. Lots of pictures and uniforms. Lots of American pride.

I didn't take pictures in other stores, but I did take pictures of my windows, and I thought I'd share them here.

 

This is the left window going into the shop. It featured my cousin Lyle who was killed in Vietnam, my father-in-law, and some friend's relatives. 

 

 

This is the right window going into the shop. It featured my dad, and also newspaper clippings from the Persion Gulf War.

 

For more detailed stories of each soldier featured, you can go to my facebook page. I posted one or two a day during the Cost of Freedom event.

 

 

At some point along the way, we picked up these two 48 star flags. This seemed an appropriate time to use them for display. The pip wreath in the middle is for sale, but the flags aren't. 

 

 

May we never forget....

 

This bell was originally in the Dixon Ridge School in Marshall County, WV. Later, it was on my father-in-laws farm outside Cameron, WV. When the news came out that WWII had ended, George's dad, uncle, and grandfather rang the bell so hard in celebration that the bell cracked! If you look closely at the bell, toward the left side, you can see the crack.

 

We had the bell in the window for the event, and I think lots of people enjoyed seeing and reading it's history. 

 

 

I made a fabric bunting to hang around the top of the windows, and cut out stars on my Sihlouette machine to accompany the bunting.

 

One memory of the Event that meant a lot to me was walking into the store Friday morning. As I neared the front door to unlock it, I saw a group of school children and their teacher Mrs. Eskridge looking at the displays in my windows. My aunt just happened to be there right then, and as I opened the door, she was pointing out to the children that the man in the picture was her brother.

 

 

That brought tears to my eyes, as I saw her proudly point out the pictures of my dad, and I heard the teacher say, "Look children, this man was this woman's brother."

 

Then, my aunt pointed out the young man in the other window.

 

 

My cousin, Lyle Glenn Aston. He was killed in Vietnam, leaving behind a grief-stricken family, including his wife and baby. The print-out is from my sister's blog, when she wrote about Lyle. You can see it here.

 

The teacher said to the kids, "This is why we're here. To pay respect to these soldiers."

 

 



Yes, indeed. May we never forget. 

Cost of Freedom Arrival

The Cost of Freedom Traveling Tribute rolled into town Wednesday, and it was a sight to behold!

In our location, just a couple blocks from the former West Virginia Penitentiary, where the Tribute is now set up, the sidewalks were filled with folks patiently waiting for it's arrival.

 

First came a large number of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks from our town, and many surrounding areas.

 

 

And then the motorcycles. Lots of motorcycles. Lots and lots of motorcycles.

 

 

 

 

The majority of them were Patriot Guard Riders. I have so much respect for them! The highlighted link will take you to Wikipedia, where you can learn more about the Patriot Guard.

 

 

After a large number of riders went by, the truck carrying the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall came through.

 

 

 I was standing too close to get a good picture of the whole truck, but this gives you an idea of the beauty of it.

 

 

And then, the motorcycles kept coming. 

 

 

And coming. 

 

 

And coming, and coming, and coming.  

 

 

It had been estimated that there would be 750 - 1000 riders. I haven't heard an exact number, but I'm sure the estimate was accurate. A friend counted to 500 before she gave up counting. And they kept coming and coming and coming.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, a TV reporter who had covered the arrival was in my store shopping. She said the truck driver told her that this was one of the biggest welcomes they have ever recieved. Moundsville was out in full force, but so were the towns leading into Moundsville.

 

 

I pulled this photo from the Cost of Freedom Moundsville facebook page. This is a small town a few miles north of Moundsville on Rt. 2. Their residents filled the overpass, with their patriotism shining brightly.

 



 

 It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, but the weather had nothing to do with it. American pride, complete with honor, respect and appreciation for our military and emergency personnel was out if full force.

 

May we never forget their sacrifices.