Spring Staycation

It all started when I said, "Let's drive to a mall and go shopping." Not my typical words. But, I had a goal... shoes, shower curtain and "gettin' out of Dodge."

As we entered the mall DJ discovered "DJ's Hot Dogs." No, I'm not kidding, that was the name of the place. It was fate. Plus they had Chicago style hot dogs, which Dear enjoys once a year or so. 

Later  that week we enjoyed a visit to friends in Sullivan. We also drove to Grill on the Hill where we enjoyed good food,  fellowship with friends and great bluegrass music compliments of "US 231." They are very good. They are also friends of Dear.

So, everyone meet Lori. You'd recognize here anywhere wouldn't you?  Yeah, she's like that with pictures. Too bad, she's a wonderful friend and also quite pretty. Maybe you'll get to meet her again another time. 

MMH created these cupcakes based on a Pinterest recipe. She even made them GF so that I would be able to enjoy them as well. 

WeeOne got her ears pierced. Pretty cute, eh?

What is it with my friends holding things in front of their faces?  Actually, this silly looking piece  of cardboard earned Laura free appetizers at a local restaurant, which she graciously gave to us. Thanks Laura! I love that you and I can be goofy together. You rock!

Here she is with her daughter. Gorgeous eh? Seriously, they are both so pretty.

Meanwhile MMH and her friend were visiting puppies. No, he's not coming home with us. But, he was cute.

He certainly loved Miss Lydia, and her toes, and her shoes, and  the hem of her capris, and her legs. Shortly after this she was tucked up on the bench away from sharp puppy teeth. 

Later that night we enjoyed eating out with April and family. This is the fabulous Miss Clem hiding behind a chair. 

The end of the staycation found WeeOne and I at "Baked!"... a local business owned by a friend/family member. 

There are soooooo many choices for add ins. We did plain sugar cookies AND  chocolate cookie dough with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. 

You should stop by and check them out. It's a lot of fun. Tell Jason hi for me if you see him.

Miss Clem and the family dropped by to deliver a "Bag o' Potatoes"... actually, candy they had made that's shaped like mini potatoes. Why? Well, in honor of St. Paddy's day of course. 

Some piano playing. WE had the pleasure of watching our friends' three sons that same day. 

Well, how would you look at aged not quite 2 and eating gooey s'mores? 

It was a St. Patrick's Day bonfire. WE brought Irish soda bread, thanks MMH, (and chocolate pie... thanks Dear). April supplied the potato soup and the salad and drinks. Well, what else would you have on St. Patrick's Day but potato soup and Irish soda bread. Oh, and a bonfire. Of course. 

She was carrying things for people and generally being a big help. Who is that you ask? Well, Princess Ariel of course.

See, those sticky s'mores clean up. Just in time for some more. 

Two of the lovely lassies in attendance.

Dear. 

Miss Ava had requested we wear flowers, which she supplied, in our hair. Mine tickled, so I shared it with MMH.

Some of the men gabbing away. Periodically they came and stuck wood on the fire. Quite handy. They also took care of the babies.

It was a great staycation. We managed to take a trip to Greenwood, travel to Sullivan and hang out with friends, eat dinner at a gun club, listen to bluegrass music, hang out at the mall with friends, watch a bunch of kiddoes, visit a new bakery, hit the library, clean the house, attend a St. Paddy's bonfire and generally relax and enjoy time as a family. How was your break? 

Blessings, Kim

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Welcome, come in, don't stay outside where it's cold. I'll be happy to take your coat. I'll just put it back in my bedroom... oh, you can't look there... still pretty messy. But, please have a seat in the living room with me and we can chat.

I'd offer some cookies, I had a bunch baked, but I guess some little elf must have eaten them all... Can I brew you a cup of tea? Offer you a plate of yummy fruit?

As you came in you probably noticed all the vintage touches in the entryway. Mama Magpie has been teaching me about some of these items. She also helped me to rekindle my interest in vintage items. Much of what you'll see is from my Gram, she was very special to me!

I was able to purchase this cute little feather tree from a friend of Mama Magpie. The decorations on it are ones I didn't sell at the show. I NEVER thought I'd have a pink and blue themed tree!

This is the whole glass front buffet. I know... a buffet in the entryway? It works. Doesn't it look sweet against the pale blue walls?

These sweet little candles came from Gram years and years ago. Mr. Deer is a bit melty... I guess I shouldn't have stored him a hot attic! Poor fellow!

Not all the Shiny Brites go on the tree. Besides, Mr. Bluebird needs a nest and with all his glitter don't you think this is just the perfect place for him to rest?

Now, if you turn this way you'll see my vase of "Christmas flowers"... so nice, you never need to water them!

I liked them so much I made some more. Cheery! (And Shiny... if it can't be glittery then shiny's a pretty good substitute.)

Oh, did you think I was done with the ornaments? Sorry... 'fraid not. This is part of a vintage silver tea service from the Illinois Central Railroad. Grandpa worked for them for years and when the service closed employees were given remembrances.

And here are some sweet angels, also from Gram. The squirrel... AHEM.. was a Christmas gift from my oldest son. It's to memorialize a "special event"with a stubborn squirrel. And no, I did NOT kill him, nor did I hit him with the snowball. I merely startled him... it was his fault his leg was stuck in the "squirrel proof" (HA!) feeder and he broke his leg. As if I needed any help remembering. Oh my... where was I? Oh yes, Christmas decorations...

At the other end of this half-wall is the first of my many nativity scenes. This particular ornament is from Dear's Grammie.

Before we have a seat why don't you step into the dining room? Another find from Mama Magpie... a reminder to be joyful during this season. Don't you love all that glitter?!

Here's our advent tree. Each day a new ornament goes up, accompanied by appropriate scripture. A family in our church started this tradition and many families are now using it and it's updated versions. Sorry it's a bit out of date... took this picture a few days ago.

As you walk through the doorway look up and you'll see these sweet swallows made by Mama Magpie. Years ago I lived in Washington state where we had a barn on our property. It was FULL Of barn swallows and I've loved swallows ever since. Wasn't Mama Magpie sweet to remember? Also, tucked in the beak of one bird is an envelope in which I found my gift for that year. Each bird is adorned with a word for the season: hope, joy, love, bliss, etc. An incredible gift from an incredible friend!

If you step back towards the living room you'll be able to see the first of many nativities. I have a thing for them. I guess I get so tired of people missing the reason for this special time of year that I more than make up for this. At last count, including Nativity music boxes, ornaments and pillows I believe we have more than 15 sets in one form or another. There's another done on "letter blocks" just next to this set... sadly I'm not such a great photographer and blurs seemed to be all I could shoot!

On a lower shelf is this this little placard I made for Gram years ago when she was still alive. It came back to me when she passed away. It's a sweet reminder of the true meaning of Christmas, and also a sweet reminder of a special woman who was influential in my spiritual life.

Same shelf, other end. It's not all vintage here. Don't forget my love of cows. This is "Moodolph."

Now, if you'll just turn back towards the living room you'll see the rest. The olive wood nativity is from Grammie and Grampie... it was their wedding gift to us from their last trip to Israel. The music boxes are from my mom. The Precious Moments nativity was given to me by a special aunt... a piece each year. You can see it took a few years to build it up! The tree ornaments are vintage Shiny brites, indents, polish, Czech and German glass, a few "fillers" of modern balls... hadn't yet started collecting, and also some family prizes. The banner over the tree didn't sell at Art and Soul, but Dear was glad and asked that we keep it.

Perhaps you'd like to pull up a pillow and rest. Yes, that one, don't you love the needlework?

It reminds me of one final Christmas tradition in our "decorating"... the decorating of our souls. Every year we work on memorizing the Luke 2 Christmas story. Want to join in?

"And it came to pass in those days... " Well, trust me, it's a sweet tradition, just look up Luke 2 and see if this story isn't one of the best ever told. I think so because it's gift given to me by the King of Kings. I pray you receive a gift from Him as well this Christmas season.

Shalom!
Kim

for more tours of homes just visit "The Nester."

Don't hold your breath

You may not see many more posts in the next few months. Then again you never know!

I have been SOOOOO busy this summer. Then there were some days where I totally just did NOTHING. It was great.

The big change this summer was helping with my in-laws' move across town. Now, you would think that with all the "junk" I collect for art projects I might have paid a bit more attention when we were cleaning out their house. But, at that time we were moving in a hurry. We had exactly 2.5 days in common with Dear's brother and his wife and that had to be the time in which we did the final big move. So, MANY trips by the men to Salvation Army and Goodwill later... I thought, "Hmmm, I bet some of this would have sold for a good price." Ah well... water under the bridge and hopefully someone found a great treasure for very little money. Live and learn.

I have also now been introduced to the world of auctions. Now, lest you wonder if I have nothing but spare cash and spare time, the answer is NO to both of those questions. However, you would have been assuming that I was going to auctions of "ART" and "ANTIQUES" when in actuality I was going to rural auctions looking for such things as: buttons, button cards, needle cards, thimbles, old papers, and old bird houses. Those are just a few of the things, junk, that I look for both at auctions and garage sales. As the summer has wound down I began to worry that I had not looked diligently enough to accumulate what I needed for my work. So, I might have, maybe, just a little, obsessed about auctions and sales.

And, I want to brag a bit... twice now Dear has accompanied me. The first time... oh my! I was sure he would never ever ever go again. It was long, slow and my items came up at the end. Then, as things have been I lost each and every bid I made. I did manage three needle papers. Yep, that was it after sitting there for longer than I will admit here for all the world to learn. However, the next time Dear joined me we had a GREAT time with many treasures.

I bid on a stack of old records ( we love them in this house and have three turntables to prove it!) and won 10 records for $5. Couldn't decide if I wanted another pile for that price, so waited for Dear who was graciously hauling my "treasures" to the van. By the time he got in the bidding was non-existent and he kept saying, "Bid on it!" And I kept asking, "WHAT?" not knowing it was what was up right then. So at last I raised my hand when I heard "$1.00." And I won. Then I was really curious what I had won because I honestly had never turned around. Lo and behold I had bid, and won the bid, for every record there... all for a total of $1. Can you beat that?

I know, pics would make this so much more interesting, but I really don't have the time at the moment.

I attended Mini Pie's second birthday. I adore her! After all I am "Zee Mama" ( translated that means "Godmama"). We had a fun afternoon watching her enjoy life, eating cake with her family and friends and visiting with friends we had not seen in a while.

Wee One had her China Sisters reunion. They went horseback riding nearby. I know pics... maybe I'll post them in a week or two. Or not... no promises.

Now I am living with the beginning of the school year, getting ready for the art show and trying in between times to remember to love my family and take care of them. (It was a disaster here last week, however we did clean up most of the mess... minus my "studio"... aka the tables shoved against one side of the basement, plus the piles underneath that keep taking over all available floor space!)

I am actually beginning to believe I will have enough projects for the show. It's kind of incredible. I had 4 ready last spring. Then I completed two more one day when Mama Magpie came over. Then recently my brain has just been exploding with ideas. I know... pictures! So, if I post these pictures will you come to the show? My booth is "Whimsy and The Word" and it will be cute... I promise. I've got many different sorts of projects... cards from vintage folios, dressed up Shiny Brites for trees, a bit of jewelry I've created, note cards, framed quilt squares, altered bottles, etc. I'm having fun finally and that's a nice place to be and to get the creative juices flowing.

School began very well by the way. Young Man headed back to Texas for another VERY busy year. He is loving it and looking forward to the next mission trip he may take, hopefully to Africa again. Senior Son is in town, being a "Bobbite", working at a part time job and attending Ivy Tech, and the two girls began their school year in August. We began slow and picked up a bit more each week, last week we added their final classes of Latin, Science and Art. MMH also joined the volleyball team at a local Christian school. She has made a lot of new friends, renewed some old friendships, learned how to play volleyball and generally enjoyed the season so far. We hope the school will not join the IHSAA next year as that would disallow her from playing since the rules state that all student athletes must attend the school 50% of the day.... We'll see.

Well, that's enough for now. The Lord continues to work in our lives. We are learning about His faithfulness to all generations, how what we believe directly impacts what we do, think, read, and watch (our fruit will tell about our souls), and many other things. I am so grateful that each day the Lord is with me and guiding my steps. I may wander from the path but the Lord has always pulled me back.

Blessings,
Kim

Gorgeous Goddaughter

So, WAAAAAYYYYY back, before Mother's Day, I hijacked my goddaughter for a day. It was pretty fun. Part of the day I did a mini-photo shoot (10 minutes) so I could make a wall hanging. So, I thought I might show what we ended up with... SOOO cute.



This is her wondering if it's worth all the work...



Maybe just a bit of a flirty face. "If I look cute enough maybe we'll be done!"



Contemplating the Godmama's sanity. "Is this woman sane? What did Mama think she was doing leaving me here for the day?!"



Studying the flower. "Why in the world did Godmama give me this dumb flower anyway?"



NOT! As in, Not worth it. Not buying it. NOT posing anymore. NOT sure if this woman is sane!



"So, I'm done already. Take the camera away. This is what I will do for the paparazzi who follow me." It worked.. we were done.


We took the favorite picture, opened it with a photo program, fixed it up, antiqued it, and then...



we added hand painted color. Soft and sweet.

Thanks for Sharing Mini with me Mama Magpie!
We do love our Magpie family!!!
Thanks to Papa Magpie for serving his country!
Blessings, with a salute,
Kim