Happy Halloween!

These were my little munchkins last year. They love Halloween even though they don't really look like it here. It's rainy & stormy here this morning but should be done by this afternoon. The leaves are falling like snow. A perfect night for chili & a fire in the fireplace. We don't have many trick or treaters anymore which is kind of sad but certainly don't blame parents. I can remember when Allison was little we lived in Gardner, Kansas. It was a really small town & on Halloween everyone opened their front doors, turned on all the lights (indoors & out) & welcomed everyone in. Now in our neighborhood most of the houses stay dark with no decorations & no one opens the door. Luckily, it isn't like that in my daughter's neighborhood. Oh, well, I can't do anything about that either but I can fill my candy bowl & turn on all the lights & leave the front door open. Have a wonderful Halloween & a great weekend.

Kenda's creations...

Kenda is one of the talented women in our shop who never seem to give themselves enough credit so I'll do it for her. She home schools 3 very intelligent kids, keeps them involved in as many activities as they can manage, keeps merchandise coming in for her space at Leola's, works on Sat. & still finds time to design wonderful creations like this wreath. Is it not incredible!!! She's making them for Christmas open house at Leola's. Did I mention that she's working at one of the election sights on Tues.? Anyway, thought you might like a preview.

She brought in some wonderful tintypes & some are photos on glass.

Working on Christmas Open House at Leola's!

These are a few of the things I've been working on for the Christmas open house. I found these old thread cones at a flea mkt. in Ark. & thought I'd try to make some of these. There are so many on the blogs that are so gorgeous so decided to try my hand at it. I love them! Anyway, today is my day to work at Leola's so "hi-ho hi-ho, it's off to work I go" or "another day, another dollar (or maybe 50 cents)". It's not my fault that the other women bring in such great things & tempt me.

Have a great day!!!!

Saturday in Arkansas!

Judy, Linda & I took off yesterday & headed for Eureka Springs & all the antique shops in-between. It was a gorgeous day for a drive through the Ozarks. We tried to be aware of the scenery but sometimes when you're trying to solve the problems of the world you miss alot. I'll sure be glad when this election is over so we can turn all our problems over to a new president. (That's a joke, of course!!!! ) Lucky for us, we all pretty much share the same political views so there's not much arguing. Just discussing & sharing our fears & hopes for the future.

Anyway, we had a great day & came home with so many great ideas & renewed enthusiasm. Our favorite place in Eureka Springs is Something Simple. It is the most beautiful store thanks to the talented owner, Kaylene. I just would like to know how she runs the shop, makes the wonderfully creative things she comes up with & maintains a guest cottage outside of town. She's really amazing! The tree below is kind of a Halloween tree but truly a gentle Halloween tree.

This tree is more of a Christmas tree but had lots of things you could use all year.

This was the most amazing wreath. I thought how cute it would be with g'children's Christmas pictures on it along with old family Christmas pictures all copied in sepia tones.

This was her front porch with rakes done in an arrangement on pillars. She painted one rake on each side white. Who would have thought.......

Another one of the places we love here is Vintage Cargo. Every fall we are wowed by these berries at their front. This year some were bright orange & some bright red. They are absolutely gorgeousI love this saying & seems to fit my life right now. I can see a bumper sticker & an apron. Don't you sometimes want to say "it is what it is" when you serve a meal?

I'm not much of a "new" shop person until I get in Vintage Cargo. They sell a dish detergent that I buy this time every year that smells just like a Christmas tree. It's expensive but with most expensive soaps, it lasts forever. I also bought the cutest chocolate molds that I'll either tie on packages or hang in the kitchen.

This is a view down one of the streets. It is such a unique little town. I'd like to live there someday.

Fall is definitely here!

It is definitely fall! It's very chilly here this morning & we have the threat of our first killing frost this weekend. Guess I have to pick my green tomatoes & bring them in. For some strange reason my tomatoes are producing their best tomatoes right now. Also, I have the best crop of arugula (my very favorite lettuce) but it's pretty hardy & can take a little frost. If you've never used arugula before, try it. It's especially great on sandwiches.

It's my job to pick Sage up at school on Tuesday afternoons & this is him in his neighborhood this week with his ice cream cone. He started Cub Scouts this year & his G'pa told him that one requirement was to walk little old ladies across the street so this week as we were walking hand-in-hand back to the parking lot he told me that I was his "little old lady" this week -- so he made his quota. Lucky for him, he laughed when he said it. I hope he never outgrows his desire to spend time with his G'ma. I thought of that this morning as I watched Barack Obama get off the plane in Hawaii going to see his G'ma for probably the last time.

Anyway, I'm getting out of the house today. I've tried to keep my "nose to the grindstone" this week & get things ready for open house but I need a break. Usually Friday is garage sale day but this cool weather has caused a decline in the amount of sales. Maybe I'll check out some flea mkts. Have to have my "fix"!!!!

This is the tree I see in my front yard when I work on my computer. It's a huge maple & is gorgeous in the fall. It just needs another week. Tomorrow will be a good day for a drive in the country. Have a great weekend!

Diana has left us!

Diana decided to leave her pain-ridden body behind on this beautiful, sunny fall afternoon and soar. May she rest in heaven tonight. May God wrap his loving arms around Regi & Diana's son Michael & bring them peace.

Life goes on!

It's a beautiful fall day here today & very cool. The sun is bright & so easy to go on about your life & forget that people are going through such sadness on this same day. My oldest niece Regi has brought her life-partner, Diana, home to probably die very soon. She has battled cancer for a year now & has grown very weak & now has broken a bone in her leg. I'm not sure I know very many people who could or would have been strong enough to deal with what Regi has had to deal with this past year. She & Diana have been together for many years and have shared a wonderful life.

When you say your prayers today, please include Regi & Diana.

A little fall decorating!

I am so far behind in everything. Finally, there are a few fall decorations out but most of my Halloween will not be out this year. The g'kids don't seem to notice & I just can't find the time. Their house looks like Halloween central & this time of the year they're so busy all the time that we don't see as much of them. My time has been spent on trying to get things ready for Leola's Holiday Open House & since I didn't start until about a month ago, I'm a little stressed.

Here's my mantle. I've wanted to paint it for years but so far haven't gotten around to it.

This is my red entry hall. One of my collections is yellowware & spongeware, & I especially like it this time of the year. That's some of my wool applique in the frames.
This cabinet is in my living room & holds more of my yellowware & some of my turkey collection. The pillows are more of my work. The one with the house applique is going to Leola's.

Another great hunt for antiques

Jean, Judy & I took another little antique buying trip to Lebanon & did we ever have fun. It was just a beautiful fall day & our hunt was very successful. Besides that, we came home with our heads full of all kinds of ideas for our holiday decorating at Leola's. It's so hard to get in the holiday spirit this early but sometimes something just gets you started & it starts clickin'. Luckily, the people at Elm St. Antique Mall in Lebanon were having an open house & had lots of great holiday things out. I love it because they always have handmade things. You can hardly find them anymore. We have such talented people at the shop who still like to create.

We are so fortunate to have a feature on our shop in the Christmas issue of 417 magazine & they're coming this week for pictures. Kelli has been working on angel wings to decorate our shop with for the holidays so she has angel wings hanging all over her living room. It almost looks like a movie set. Can't wait to see what they look like in the shop.

O-K! Here's Judy & me loading some of our treasures. We were so weak after all this hard work, we had to run to Steak n Shake & get a burger. That always helps! If you're not from our part of the country & you don't have Steak n Shake, I pity you.

We went on down the road to Route 66 Antique Mall & took some pictures. They just have the best primitives.

Now tomorrow I have so much work to do to get everything ready. Also have to decide what to take into Leola's since I've sold pieces over the weekend & need to fill in those spots. Oh, well, this is the week for our favorite sale where we find our very best merchandise. It's out in this really small town & they open for 2 days every other month. Sorry can't tell you where it is but it is great. I'll take pictures & show you what I found on Thurs. Have a good Sunday!

Excuse my ignorance!!!

I know I have 2 of the same picture below but I can't figure out how to delete it. If anyone knows, tell me how. Where's Katie!!!!!!

My garage sale finds!

Yea!!!! The garage sale fairies were looking down on me today. I really found some great things. It was one of those mornings when I felt like if I didn't get out of the house I was going to have a "run-away" (that's what my Mom always said). I think I just do way too much thinking about things I have absolutely no control over so decided to do something that really makes me happy. And the garage sale fairies showered me with gifts. The first thing I found was this wonderful yellow-ware bowl. That's one of my many collections so it's kind of hard to give up but I just don't need another one & making money off this stuff is suppose to be the name of the game. Anyway, it will go to Leola's.

The next find were these wonderful barley twist candlesticks (another collection) but there again, I'm taking them to Leola's. Am I tough, or what!!!!

The last garage sale I hit I found the hand-braided wool rug & twinsize iron bed. Sorry but I'm keeping the bed. I have one & have been looking for a second since the g'kids need another bed.

I'm trying to stockpile some things for Christmas open house. I have painted a wicker settee brown & I'm making cushions out of a red plaid wool throw. It is going to be so cool! RL would love it. So I'm trying to come up with things to go into a real country, primitive room. I'm still such a fan of country, primitive things like quilts, wool rugs & throws, candlesticks, crocks, & wonderful old linens. I also want to have a lot of handmade things this year so I've been working up a storm. Wish there were more hours in the day.

Fall at Kelli's house

This is my niece Kelli's house in the fall. She does an amazing job of decorating both outside & inside and thankfully, does a lot of the decorating at Leola's. She's also quite an artist & is always working on a project. Right now, she's designing our front window for Christmas. It should be spectacular!

What a beautiful fall weekend!

Sorry for my not so great picture but wanted to show the strange vignette Judy did in the front window. Halloween brings the strangest things out in people! You should see her house. The kids think it's great but I still have a little fear of it scarring them for life. She has a great hall closet that she decorates for almost every season. I'll try to take pictures when she does it. It's amazing!!!!
Stella, Phoebe & I had the greatest time on Friday. While Mom & Sage went to the Dr., we set off for the fall festival at the Ozark park. It's a wonderful park that sets right next to the river & it was packed with artists, crafters, food vendors & tons of people. The smell & feel in the air was amazing. But does it bother anyone else that they have this wonderful festival & vendors stock their booths with all kinds of Americana that's "made in China". Just seems to me that there's a time & place for that (since hardly anything is made in America) but a festival like this should have local crafters & artisans. Some of the local people had the most beautiful things like the wool applique below & hooked rugs but believe me it's hard to sell your handmade things when they're setting beside something made in another country by people working for $20 a week. Just wish there was more appreciation for handmade goods.

Anyway, the girlsies & I had a great time. Hope you had a good weekend!

Pam's wonderful creations

The frost is nearly on the pumpkin in Missouri -- 42 degrees this morning. I love fall but dread what winter could bring after the last two. The Farmers Almanac says it's to be colder & snowier in Missouri but not sure how that works since southern Mo. is so different, weather -wise, from northern Mo. Guess we'll just wait & see.

Oh, well, guess if we can make it through the economic woes & the election, we can surely make it through winter. Don't you long for the days that all we heard on the news was about Britney? Although, now that I'm remembering it, I think there was a war going on then. Somehow that gets lost in the shuffle. Bet there are lots of Moms, Dads, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, G'mas & G'pas & other family members & friends that don't forget the war. Is it just me or do others feel slightly overwhelmed with life right now?


Thought you might like to see some of the new things we have at Leola's. We've moved things around & made some great changes. Here are some of Pam's t-shirt & sweatshirt creations. We all love them because they're made for a woman's body. We can layer them & not feel all stuffed. In the picture my sister Jean is wearing a smaller size to fit her short frame. I like the bigger sizes because they're longer (& I'm a little larger then my little sister Jean). My next purchase will be the charcoal grey sweatshirt & an orange t-shirt to wear over or under a white blouse. O-k! There's my fall wardrobe! How easy was that!!!!

Sandy's treasures

This is some of Sandy's treasures at Leola's. She's the best at finding wonderful things & being able to sell them at great prices.